Chapter 1: A New Past


He opened his eyes and quickly shut them again because the bright lights pierced into his skull like a sharp knife. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes and opened them again, blinking until his vision cleared. His head felt like someone had driven a spike all the way through it.

“I’m glad you’re finally awake, Mr. Kinney. I’m Doctor Jones and I’ll be looking after you today. We were beginning to get worried when you didn’t regain consciousness immediately.”

He blinked up at the man dressed in the white coat. “Mr. Kinney?”

“Yes, do you remember now?”

“Remember? I don’t know. It doesn’t sound familiar.”

“I had hoped that finding out your name would help restore your memory, but these things take time. How are you feeling?” Dr. Jones picked up a clipboard and looked over it.

“How did you figure out my name? I still don’t remember anything.”

“You’re husband, Brian, told us everything.”

“My husband?” He closed his eyes and tried to visualize anything that might give him some clues. He wasn’t shocked to learn that he had a husband, so obviously he was gay. “Why is it that I know I’m gay, or at least I’m pretty sure I’m gay, but I can’t remember my name or where I’m from?”

Dr. Jones laughed. “Considering you’re married to a man, I think the fact that you’re gay is pretty obvious, but let my try to answer your questions. We don’t know exactly how the mind processes things, but it’s not unusual to retain all motor functions and common knowledge while losing every thing personal.”

He nodded his head. That made sense. He remembered what a doctor was and he figured out he was in a hospital, so he had retained some knowledge. It was so frustrating that he couldn’t remember anything about his life. “Where is my husband?”

Brian entered the room and heard the question. “I’m right here, Sunshine.”

He turned his head and blinked in shock. The man who’d just walked into the room was too beautiful for words. This was his husband?! He closed his mouth because he realized it was gaping a bit, licked his lips to wet them and asked, “Sunshine?”

Brian sat down on the bed, picked up the hand closest to him and laced their fingers together. “I prefer to call you Sunshine, but if you’d rather I call you Jay, I will.”

“My name is Jay?”

Brian winked at Jay. “You’re called a lot of things; Sunshine, Jay, JK, Daddy Jay, and sometimes even DJ.”

Jay swallowed hard and stared up at the man holding his hand. “Daddy Jay?”

“Oh, yeah. I talked to the boys and explained to them that you were having problems remembering things. Don’t worry, I’m sure your memory will come back soon.”

“Boys?”

Brian grinned and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open and pointed to the first picture of a little boy that was a miniature version of himself. “This is Gus; he’s five and in Kindergarten.” He pointed to another boy with bright red hair and freckles. “Here’s Danny; he’s ten and in the fifth grade.” He flipped the pictures and pointed to another boy with curly black hair. “This is Nate; he’s thirteen and in the eighth grade.” Finally, he pointed to a picture of twin boys with wild curly blond hair. “These are the twins Chad and Charlie; they’re eight and in the third grade.”

Jay felt himself getting a little light headed. He wiped the sweat that had suddenly appeared on his forehead with a shaky hand. “Do we babysit these boys?”

Brian laughed and shook his head. “No. These are our boys.”

“Our boys? As in our sons? As in they live with us all the time…year round…seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, year in and year out?” Jay coughed and desperately sucked air into his lungs. He was going to pass out.

Brian grinned and patted Jay on the shoulder. “You always wanted a big family, Jay, and I just couldn’t deny you that.”

Jay was struggling so hard to breathe he was making little wheezing sounds. He finally got himself under control. “So, who watches the boys while we work?”

“You do, Jay. You were adamant about that. You said that there was no way that your kids were going to be raised by some stranger. I agreed with you, so I work and you tend to the house and the boys. It works out great for us.”

Jay started to wheeze again and fanned his face with his free hand. His lips were moving but nothing understandable was coming out.

“You’re doing the fishy faces. Gus loves it when you do that, and I think you look so adorable.”

Jay scratched at his throat and shook his head. He couldn’t get enough air. This couldn’t be happening to him. He was almost certain he’d never had any children of his own, but that couldn’t be right. Why couldn’t he remember?

Brian looked up at the doctor. “So, Doc, when can I take Sunshine home? The kids miss him, and I think he’ll get his memory back faster if he just jumps back into his old life.”

Jay was shaking his head weakly, desperately trying to stop the awful wheezing noises.

Dr. Jones smiled and clapped his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “I don’t see any reason why he can’t go home in the morning. I think you’re right about him getting back on his regular schedule.”

Brian smiled, leaned down and kissed Jay on the forehead. “I’ll be here bright and early to pick you up in the morning, Sunshine. I’m going home to tell the boys that you’ll be coming home. I know they’ll be so excited.”

Jay watched his husband practically skip out of the hospital room and looked over at the doctor with tears in his eyes.

Dr. Jones smiled down at the young man. “I know you must be so happy to have your husband and kids back in your life. You’re a very lucky young man.”

Jay blinked as the tears rolled down his cheeks. “Yeah, I’m really lucky.”

************Brian’s House************


Brian stumbled through the front door, tripping over the twins’ shoes. “Boys, get down here now!”

A short woman ran into the living room, stopped in front of Brian and pointed her finger in his face. Her hair was standing out all around her head, and she had blue splotches of paint strategically arranged. “These kids are monsters! You’d better be glad you’re home. I was about to call the police. I’m out of here. No amount of money is worth this!” She shoved past him and practically sprinted out the door, jumping over obstacles like an Olympian.”

Brian watched as his latest housekeeper made a break for freedom and turned to glare up the stairs at his sons. “What did you guys do to that poor woman?”

Nate ran down the steps. “She was so mean to us, Dad. We were just defending ourselves.”

Brian rubbed a hand over his face and looked at his boys. They were all huddled together on the stairs, waiting to see if he was going to blow up at Nate. He shook his head and smiled up at their little faces. “Come on down here guys. I have something very important to talk to you about.”

He waited until all five boys were sitting on the couch before he cleared off a section on the coffee table so he could sit down. “Listen guys, I’m bringing someone home tomorrow who’s going to look after you guys. You won’t be able to run him off because I’m not paying him to watch you.”

“Then why is he doing it, Dad?” chorused the twins.

“He’s doing it because he thinks we’re married, and he thinks he’s your Daddy.”

“Whatever gave him that idea?” asked Danny.

“I told him. I want you guys to call him Daddy Jay or DJ, and I expect you to give him a chance. This is really important guys.”

“Why is it so important?” huffed Nate.

Brian took a deep breath. “You boys have been having problems in school, and I can’t seem to pay a housekeeper enough to hang around for more than a day. I’m afraid you boys will be taken from me, so please give Jay a shot.”

Gus launched himself into Brian’s arms. “I don’t want to go away, Dad. Don’t let them take me.”

Brian hugged his youngest son and looked at the other four boys. “Promise me that you’ll do everything you can to get along with Jay.”

The boys looked at one another and turned back to their father. “We promise, Dad.”

Brian smiled. “Great. Now, try to pick this place up or we’ll scare him off before he even gets settled in.”

Brian fed the boys hotdogs for dinner and sent them up to clean their rooms and get ready for bed. He’d just got the living room looking slightly less like a dump when the doorbell rang. He opened the door and smiled at Ted and Emmett. “It’s about time you guys got here. He’s coming home tomorrow, so we have to get everything set up.”

“I got everything you asked for, Brian, but I’m not sure I’m happy about this.” Emmett walked in carrying bags of clothes.

“I’ve got all the paperwork you need to sign to add him to the household accounts and I got him added to your credit card with a card in his name that will arrive in a few days by mail.” Ted handed the folder to Brian.

Brian closed the door and followed them into the room. “I really appreciate this guys.”

Emmett turned and glared at Brian. “How can you do this? That poor man has no idea who he is and you’re filling his head with a bunch of lies so you’ll have someone to watch your kids.”

Brian sighed. “Emmett, you said they found him in an alley. Plus, he may never get his memory back and I can take care of him. He’ll never want for anything.”

Emmett flopped down on the couch. “No, he’s stuck with a fake husband and five kids to raise. Sounds like every boys dream to me.”

“What happens if he does get his memory back, Bri? He could press charges against you. Then what would happen to the boys?” Ted sat down next to Emmett.

“I can’t worry about that now, Ted. I can only deal with one crisis at a time.” Brian opened the folder and shuffled through the paperwork. “Everything seems to be in order, just let me sign these and you can file them.”

Ted handed Brian a pen. “Do you want us to hang these clothes in your closet?”

Brian nodded. “Yeah, I cleared out some space.”

Ted and Emmett picked up the bags of clothes and disappeared into Brian’s bedroom.

Brian sat down at the table and signed all the papers next to the neat little red x’s. He looked around his home and smiled. He’d done exactly what he’d set out to do. He owned his own business, made a great living, owned a big house, and had five of the greatest boys to call his sons. He loved them all, even if they were going to make him go gray long before his time.

Ted and Emmett came back into the room carrying empty bags. “It’s all put away, Brian. I just really hope you know what you’re doing.” Emmett hugged Brian and headed for the door.

Ted took the folder from Brian. “Listen, Boss. If you need anything else give me a call.”

“Thanks, Theodore. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you picking up Jay tomorrow?” asked Emmett.

“Yes, but after I get him settled in here, I’m going to work.”

“Do you think it’s fair to thrust him into all of this and leave him?” Ted glanced up at Brian.

“I don’t really have a choice, now do I?”

Brian walked them to the door, closed and locked it behind them. He slowly walked into his bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I certainly hope I know what I’m getting myself into.”