- Text Size +
When they returned to the bar, everyone else were there waiting for them, and by the looks of it, Chris had already been helpful and told everyone what was going on. They were seated at one of the larger corner tables, located close to the bar and the door to the back. With Dean behind the counter alone, Chris kept a half-eye on the bar to make sure no one was kept waiting too much. But since it was a weekday, they werenīt packed, and most of the people there where considered regulars.

As they walked over the the table, JC got up from his chair to make room for Brian, and squeezed down in between Lance and Howie instead, sitting mostly on Howieīs lap, looking quite comfortable. Brian gave JC a grateful smile as he fell down into the chair, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he gathered his strength to go over everything again. He didnīt want to do it, and was more that happy to let Nick, AJ and Justin fill them in on everything they had done leading up to his second vision, silently listening to them, taking small sips from a glass of water Dean had sat down in front of him on his way to a nearby table to take a beautiful womanīs order (people usually walked to the bar to order, but Dean had a habit of walking to the pretty women instead of waiting for them to come to him).

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and realized they had finished their part of the story, and it was his turn to talk about his vision again. He did his best to explain it in as much detail as he could remember. He told about the promotion party, if you could call it that. He described the boss in as much detail as he could (taller than her, slender built but with broad shoulders, so he probably worked out, dark hair, short, dark eyes, probably latin-american, handsome), and the hugging co-worker as well (maybe 10 pounds overweight, but still pretty, brunette, didnīt know the eye color, caucasian, all smiles, touchy feely, seemed like one of those people who were always happy and smiling). He moved on to the domestic scene, which in truth he didnīt think told him much at all. He knew they needed a new decorator for their living room (the mismatched colors alone would probably make even Lance want to tear his eyes out, and he had been known to find some of JCīs outrageous outfits appealing), but aside from how the interior looked, it gave him nothing in regards to who she was.

The restaurant scene was his main focus. It had taken him two seconds to recognize the place as being the same place Kevin had taken him to celebrate when he got his promotion years ago, before the unfortunate eyebrow incident that took place later that evening (Kevin was still traumatized about that one, and seemed to flinch whenever he saw Nick or AJ with a razor). “Are you sure?” Kevin asked, avoiding looking at Nick and AJ to a point where he might as well be giving them the full on Kevin-glare of eternal damnation. Nick made no move to hide his smirk, which caused him a not-so-subtle push in the side from AJ, who was trying very hard to keep a straight face. “Yeah, itīs the one. They redecorated a little, but mostly itīs still the same. And from the newspaper the man she was with was reading, they were there yesterday. Which means there is a good chance there will be something there for me to find still.”

Around the table the others were nodding and smiles were tugging at the corners of their mouths. What had seemed like an impossible situation now looked to be a little less impossible. At least now they had a solid lead, and that was all they could really ask for. “When do you want to go?” Chris asked, and Brian turned to look at him. “Probably tomorrow right after work. I should take a sick day or something, but I need the money. And besides, I need some of you guys to come with me, and we canīt all take the day of.f” “I can,” Lance said, beaming at Brian. “Already made ten grand this week from downloads of my latest video, īDance With Lanceī, and there are no major issues I need to protest for right now, so Iīm all yours sweetie-pie.” “Please tell me you are not dancing naked,” Kevin said, looking slightly pale at the very thought. “Of course not, that would just be nasty. Iīve got all sorts of costumes thank you very much! My catsuit, and the black leather chaps outfit seems to be peoples favorites.”

With Kevin busy burying his head in his hands, trying to get rid of that mental image, Brian grinned at Lance. He might not condone Lanceīs choice of income method, but he was making a lot of money and having a lot of fun with it, so who was he to judge. Besides, Lance really did look great in that chaps outfit! “Thanks. Anyone else?” he looked around the table. Chris gave him a nod right away. “Sam can probably manage not to give everyone food poisoning, and those two can do their jobs for once,” he waved at Nick and AJ. Nick looked like he was about to say something when AJ reached out to silence him with a light touch on the shoulder. “Weīll hold down the fort, you bring Joey as well to make sure Lance behaves and Brian has enough shoulders to lean on.” Joey smiled at Brian, reaching out to put a hand over his on the table. “Weīve got you,” he said, and Brian smiled back at him, grateful for the massive support he was feeling.

“Hey! We wanna help too!” Howie exclaimed, poking at JC to make him move a little so he could actually see around him to stare down everyone else at the table, none too happy about being ignored. “We canīt all show up,” Chris answered, wildly motioning with his hands. “I got an idea for something we can do,” JC said, pushing Howieīs hands away, and leaning over the table towards Brian. “You seemed to remember a lot about the people at her office. Any chance you remember anything else about the place. I donīt know, like a view out a window, or the colors on the walls or a picture or the company logo or anything like that?” “I donīt know,” Brian answered. “But I canīt say Iīve tried either. Give me a little time, and Iīll sit down with you and try again. Right now I really just need to close my eyes and stop my brain from thinking.” Giving him a reassuring smile, JC got up and started to walk towards the exit. “Iīve gotta get something, and Iīll be back in like an hour or something. Go, rest, stop that brain from thinking!”

After JC left, Brian got to his feet, with a lot of help from Kevin, who lead him to the back where he let himself fall onto the couch Chris used for his daily naps. Nick came back a few moments later with a fresh glass of ice cold water, and a cloth filled with crushed ice that he placed on Brianīs forehead in an attempt to battle the headache that threatened to tear Brianīs head open. Grateful, Brian closed his eyes and tried to get some rest, willing the visions to go away and let him relax for a little while.

**********

When Brian opened his eyes again, the cloth on his forehead was gone, and JC was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall. His smile was one of the first things Brian noticed, and he smiled back, grateful that JC had let him sleep for a little while. “What time it is?” he asked, as he sat up on the couch. “A little after eleven,” JC answered as he got up off the floor and walked to sit down on the couch next to Brian.

As he sat down, he picked something up from the floor in front of the couch. It was one of his many man-bags (as Justin called them), and from it he took a sketchbook and some pencils. “I figured I could be your police sketch artist, you know. You describe, I draw, and hopefully weīll end up with something we can use.” Brian smiled, and leaned in to give JC a half hug. “Sounds good,” he said, and leaned back a little.

As JC got his pencils ready, Brian closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. In and out, in.. And out.. He felt his body relaxing, and when he felt ready, he tried to think about his vision from the office. It didnīt take long before the boss was shaking her hand again, and the co-worker was giving her a hug.

He tried to shift his focus elsewhere. Behind them he could se other people, but their faces were a bit of a blur, so he couldnīt make out anything. Looking behind them again, he saw a row of windows. He tried to move closer, to look outside, but it because too blurry to make out anything at all.

Turning around in the office, he tried to map out everything he saw, but nothing stood out to him. Aside from the three people he had already seen, everyone else there were a blur, a blur scattered over the office, with the majority congratulating her, and the rest seemingly doing their job. It looked like a regular open office landscape, yet the booths that passed for individual office spaces seemed bigger than what youīd expect, and seemingly placed at random, instead of right next to each other, one after the other.

He looked to the long wall that seemed to separate the office spaces from the hallway and the closed offices of managers and other people higher up on the corporate ladder. There was something written on the wall in large letters, black or grey, and some kind of logo next to it, blue and red maybe, but he couldnīt see it properly. He tried walking closer, but something stopped him. No matter what he tried, he seemed to be just outside the line of sight, almost close enough, yet still so far away. He looked around again, but all he could see was more of what he had already seen, windows, booths, wall, windows, booths, walls. He spun around, looking at every single blurred face he came across, trying to make out some detail about them.

He was starting to feel dizzy, but he kept spinning, kept trying to find something useful. Suddenly he seemed to trip over something, and then he was going down. Reaching out he tried to grab on to something to keep from falling. His right hand touched something, the corner of a desk, but he was unable to get a hold, and he went crashing down, taking several papers from the desk with him. As he lay there, flat on his back, he closed his eyes and tried to make the dizziness go away. After a few deep breaths he felt better, and sat up, looking around at blurred faces who were oblivious to his very presence. He brought his hand up to wipe a drop off sweat from his forehead, but was surprised when he found himself grasping a piece of paper in his hand. As he looked at it, he could see part of the letterhead, a red, blue and gold half circle with parts of something, a wavy line of some sorts, in the middle, and three letters underneath it, BME.

He was about to move his hand a little, to see then rest of the logo, when he hit the floor as he fell head first off the couch.

**********

The thump he made as he hit the floor didnīt sound very loud to him, but it must have been, because before he could even sit up again, the others were coming through the door so fast he couldnīt even tell who was first and who was last. The room seemed a little crammed as nine grown men were trying to reach him and help him to his feet. From somewhere in the mass of bodies, JC emerged and hauled him to his feet, swatting the others away with his sketchbook.

“Iīm fine,” he tried telling them, but Nick still insisted on supporting his weight, and Kevin felt his forehead and asked him to follow his finger with his eyes. Giving JC a begging look, he tried to push Nick away, but only ended up loosing his balance and falling back on the couch like a sack of potatoes.

“Youīre coming home with me tonight,” Kevin said, determination in his voice and a no-nonsense look on his face. “Iīll be fine!” he tried telling them again, “I donīt need a babysitter.” Raising one eyebrow, Kevin didnīt need to verbalize his answer, the īNOīwas written quite clearly on his face. “Guys, Iīm just exhausted, not dying! I just need to get home and go to bed, and I think I will sleep a whole lot better knowing I can have my own cereal in the morning instead of that organic stuff you like so much.” He tried to give Kevin a grin, but he was pretty sure it came out more like a grimace.

“Iīll stay with him,” Nick said, and when Kevin looked like he was about to argue he raised a hand to silence him. “Iīll make sure he sleeps in and eats something extremely unhealthy for breakfast. So, you know, heīll be fine. Now someone call us a cab, I really donīt wanna be carrying him home on the subway. Besides, heīs a lot heavier when standing for some reason!”

**********

Brian woke before his alarm went off the next day, feeling like someone had dragged him through hell and back before dumping him in his bed. He had vague memories of Nick undressing him (probably why he was sleeping naked, and not wearing boxers like he usually did), and a soft snoring sound told him Nick had made good on his promise to stay with him. Curling up to the sleeping form next to him, he glanced at the alarm, daring it to go off in the next ten minutes, and closed his eyes, strangely awake, yet not ready to get up and face the new day.

The alarm went off after eleven minutes, and Brian dragged himself out of bed, noticing in passing that it had actually gone off half an hour later than it should have. He smiled in Nickīs direction, silently thanking him, and got a loud snore in return. Shaking his head he grabbed some clothes and headed for the shower.

Ten minutes later when he walked into the kitchen, wearing boxers and a tank top, he nearly tripped over discarded clothing (Nickīs, he had a habit of leaving them everywhere), shocked to find Nick at the stove, making bacon and eggs, singing to on old AC/DC song on the radio, and looking far more awake than should be allowed.

“Morning sunshine,” Nick said with a smile, “Iīm making you breakfast.” Shaking his head to see if that would wake him from dreaming (it had to be a dream after all, Nick never got up early, was never this awake, and Kevin was the one with a habit of stating the obvious!), he walked over to give Nick a kiss on the cheek once he realized that he wasnīt dreaming, and that Nick was in fact standing at his stove, cooking him breakfast, apparently doing so without burning down the kitchen. “Get some orange juice from the fridge, will you?! This is almost done.”

Brian did as Nick asked, amused at how easily Nick seemed to slip into his domestic ītaking care of Brianīrole, and a little uneasy as well. A happy Nick this early in the morning usually meant trouble!

They ate in silence, mostly because he was stuffing his face. He hadnīt noticed it before, but he was famished, and he barely even noticed how Nick barely ate anything at all, but instead gave him however much he wanted. Once they were done Nick cleaned up while he got dressed and brushed his teeth, and then Nick decided to walk him to work, making meaningless conversation the entire time, as if he knew that Brian needed to focus on something else right now, he needed to rest his mind for a while, to recharge his batteries for later that day.

At work his manager looked a little worried when he arrived (he had forgotten to call, but finding Nick cooking in ones kitchen would have made anyone forget), and asked if he was feeling ok, and if he needed the day off. “Iīm fine,” Brian answered him, but he could tell his manager didnīt believe him. īI must look as bad as I feelī he thought as he headed into the back to hang up his things. A quick check in the mirror confirmed that suspicion. His face looked more grey than anything else, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

The day passed faster than he had thought it would, considering he felt like crap and his headache had started to come back. Around lunchtime Nick and AJ appeared, but instead of taking him with them to the bar, they had brought the bar to him. Or at least food from the bad. Chris had packed them sandwiches, and Nick must have told him about Brianīs appetite, because Chris had made him two sandwiched instead of one. Even so, he was still hungry when he finished, and found himself staring at the rest of AJīs food, a whole half piece of sandwich he hadnīt gotten around to eating yet. Understanding, AJ passed it to him with a smile, but he could see that he was worried about him, they both were.

After lunch his manager asked him to help with the paperwork, something he usually hated to do, but today it was a blessing. He could sit down, and even though staring at a computer screen didnīt help with his headache, he still felt a whole lot better than walking around going over the inventory or being out in the café.

He left half an hour early. After he had finished the paperwork the manager all but threw him out, telling him to take it easy and that if he needed it he could take a few days off, get some rest. He had tried telling him that he was fine, and didnīt need it, but as he stood on the subway on his way to the bar, he realized that a day or two off was probably a good idea when he almost fell asleep standing upright, leaning on a complete stranger who gave him a look that clearly stated that he would find himself knocked unconscious if he didnīt stop it right that instant.

He was meeting the others at the bar, but when he arrived, none of them were there yet, so he sat down around their usual table, and leaned back to close his eyes and rest for a little while. He fell asleep almost at once, and when he woke up, the other three were sitting quietly around the table, looking at him, concern written all over their faces.

**********

Chris stayed by his side the entire walk there, seemingly ready to catch him if he would fall. Lance and Joey were right behind them, staying so close Lance would walk right into him whenever he slowed down for a second.

The conversation had been light the entire walk from the bar. The restaurant was about ten blocks away, but the subway didnīt go straight there, they would have to change, and taking a taxi just seemed like a waste of money. Besides, Brian was happy they would be walking. While he was starting to feel as exhausted as he looked, he still found it refreshing to walk around outside, and not be trapped on the subway. At least this way, he would have some control over who he touched or not.

“So, you havenīt been here since Kevinīs promotion, huh?” Joey asked from behind him. He remembered telling them a little while ago how this place had the best lasagna he had ever tasted (that wasnīt his mothers or his own), and he figured that was what had spurred this out of the blue question. “Nope,” he replied. “Just mentioning the place makes Kevin start hyperventilating. Still traumatized.” Lance snorted, trying not to laugh out loud, which caused Chris to throw him a look that said very clearly that should he fail to hold that laughter in, he may just find himself hurting a whole lot. With everything that had been going on that day, Brian sometimes forgot Chris had his own traumas to work through from that night.

“One of these days Iīm just gonna bring him back,” Brian said, trying to be subtle about changing the subject, while still making a point at how some people should really get over hair related traumas. After all, everything had grown back (as far as Kevin was concerned) or been re-styled a thousand times. “Sounds like a plan,” Joey nodded. “Weīll go with you,” Lance added, and grinned at Chris.

“So, have a plan?” Chris asked, not really caring about being subtle with his switch in conversation, and the bluntness of the question cost him a slap over the head from both Joey and Lance, simultaneously. While Brian through he could have asked a bit nicer, he did understand where Chris was coming from. That night was a sore subject, and them making fun of it to avoid talking about where they were going and why they were going there just didnīt seem very fair.

“Iīm gonna go in, find the table, touch the hell out of it and pray I get something,” he said, shrugging. “Good plan,” Chris replied, and grinned as he gave him a less than manly hug, kissing him on the cheek and, for some reason and probably by accident, brushed against his ass as he did so. “Awww,” Lance cooed from behind them, and turning Brian could see him making a move to hug and kiss Joey, who was laughing as he mocked-battled Lance away, thrusting his wedding ring in Lanceīs face and telling him that he was too late.

The good mood stayed with them the final two blocks, but the moment they stepped into the restaurant, they all went silent, and the three of them fell back behind him, waiting for him to make a move. Looking around he tried letting down his defenses a little, opening himself up to the emotions in the air surrounding him. He was hit at once with a wave of mixed emotions so strong he coldnīt tell if these were from the past, present or future.

Looking around he could see the table the woman had been sitting at, and by stroke of luck it was available. He walked right up to the hostess, who was busy talking to one of the employees (he was about to get fired), and requested the table, grabbing Chris by the hand as he explained how it was where they had sat a year ago on their first date, and how they were now heading to Canada to get married, but wanted to have a few drinks here before they went. One look at Chris, who was putting on quite a performance (this time the hand on his ass was definitely not an accident), and she was sold, and with a big smile escorted them to their table.

“Youīre good,” Joey said in a low voice as they sat down, and ordered a bottle of champagne just to sell their story even more. Taking Chrisī raised eyebrows when he looked at the menu to mean that the champagne was not on the cheap side, he put a hand on his shoulder and said “donīt worry, Lanceīs treat!” Taking the menu from Chris as looking at the price, Lance only shrugged, “no problem.”

As the champagne arrived, Brian had half a glass before he felt ready to try again. With all the people in here, and everything that went down in a place like this from day to day, he knew the wave he had felt earlier was nothing compared to how bad it could be. Usually these were things he never picked up on, residual emotions of one kind or another, not unless he went looking for them. So today, the day after the woman was here, he was hoping there might still be something there, something like what he had found in the subway station.

He closed his eyes, and started to breathe more slowly, more controlled. He tried to clear his mind, started to let down his defenses, started to let things back in. He worked slowly, and shut out everything that was of no use to him. He focused even more, this time on the table alone. He let his hands run over it, around the sides and underneath it. He took another deep breath, and pictured the table in his head, tried to feel it in his head, to smell the woodwork, make it come alive.

The woman in front of him was maybe twenty-two years old. She had long blond hair, and her eyes were as green as emeralds. His lips were moving, he was saying something. She turned to look as he held out a small box in his hand. Her facial expression changed. She was smiling, then crying, then smiling again. Her lips formed a word. Everyone around them started clapping. People were smiling, some were even hugging, as if what had happened between the man and the woman had any effect on them. Champagne was brought. There were sparklers and ice cream. More tears in the midst of laughter and smiles. She was looking into his eyes. Smiling. YES!

**********

JC looked up from his sketchpad to find Howie and Nick staring at him from across the room. He had no idea how long they had been standing there, but judging from the look on Howieīs face when he took a sip of his beer (probably to look less conspicuous) it had been long enough for the beer to warm up in his hand.

“Tell me you got something,” Nick said, walking over to sit down next to him. Howie followed, leaving the beer behind. He pushed his sketches over so they could have a look at them. The first few were rough sketches of the boss and the coworker, as well as a more detailed one of the office. It was the last one he had the most hoped for. It was his rendering of the partial logo Brian had described. It was all there, including the three letters from the company name. It wasnīt much, but it was more than nothing.

“This doesnīt look familiar,” Nick noted, looking at the logo. “Let me see,” Kevin asked, sitting down opposite them, Justin and AJ leaning in over his shoulder to have a look as well. Nick pushed the sketch over the table, and they all watched as the other three had a look, crossing their fingers and toes that one of them would recognize it from somewhere. After a few second Kevin shook his head slowly, and from the looks on their faces, Justin and AJ didnīt know it either.

“So, what do we do now?” Justin asked as he pulled up a chair and slumped down into it. “I got some cousins in real estate, the paper industry and some other places,” Howie pulled the sketch closer to have another look. “I can pass around a copy, have them check around, maybe theyīll come up with something.” “Good idea. And I can check with the law firm, maybe someone there will know it,” Kevin said. “And the rest of us will hit the net,” Nick said and smiled, looking around the table. “Iīll go make copies right now,” JC said, getting up from the table and gathering up his sketches.

Kevin volunteered to go with him, ready to hit the sack as soon as they were done. He was in the middle of a case, and since he did his best work in the mornings, he usually got up at four thirty in the mornings these days. As JC and Kevin walked out the door, the rest moved over to the bar. Nick, Justin and AJ had to get back to work, this was usually their busiest hours, and Howie pulled up a stool and waved for Sam to get him a new beer, and this time, he was actually planning on drinking it.