A/N: This is my first-ever attempt at writing any Family Guy, so please do not criticise me about it. Also, this is NOT intended to be funny, despite the show being a comedy series. I cannot write humour that well, so I decided to take an alternate route and make a more serious story. Please keep all of this in mind as you read the story, mmkay?? And lastly, the title of this story is the same as a song by Whitney Houston. Pretty good song. So anyways, sit back and enjoy my one-shot.

Greatest Love of All

He took a sip of his martini and sighed.

Brian Griffin was just an ordinary dog… well, he was normal if one considered a seven-year-old, talking, alcoholic dog to be normal. Brian had made plenty of mistakes in his life—who hasn’t??—but he’d made amends with almost all of them. There were still a few things he needed to work on, but he knew it was better to take care of them slowly. Unfortunately, one of his problems had just entered the kitchen, bringing his thoughts to a screeching halt.

“Good morning, Brian.”

Brian looked up from the table. “Oh, good morning, Lois.” He tried to keep the nervous tremor out of his voice, but he wasn’t sure if he’d succeeded.

Lois Griffin, a beautiful redhead who was married to Brian’s best friend, smiled warmly. “Have you had breakfast yet??”

Brian shook his head. “Nah… I’ve only gotten myself a drink.” He gestured to the wine glass on the table for emphasis.

“Alright then, I’ll fix something good for you. You just sit tight and keep working.”

Brian stifled another sigh as he gazed at the papers scattered across the table. He had been trying to work on the novel he’d been writing on for the past three years or so, but as usual, he was having a hard time coming up with the right words. Brian closed his eyes for a moment.

“Hey Brian,” a familiar voice greeted him, “what are you doing up so early??”

Brian opened his eyes and looked up at his best friend, Peter Griffin. “I was working on my novel,” he replied.

Peter, a heavy-set New England native, snickered as he swept his gaze over the papers. “You’re still working on that?? Sheesh, will you ever get it done??”

Brian frowned and was about to snap an angry reply, but Lois interjected. “Boys, calm down. Peter, you know what Brian’s been going thru recently; this is his way of working his stress out.”

Peter rolled his eyes, but Brian smiled. “Thank you, Lois.” He began stacking the papers together. “I’m going to take a break for now. I might make another attempt after breakfast, though.”

“That’s good.” Lois had been cooking during this time, and Brian caught a glance of pancakes being turned over in the skillet. “You shouldn’t work yourself too hard on writing, you know.”

Peter snorted as he sat at his customary spot at the head of the table. “How hard can it be to write??”

Brian gave Peter an even gaze. “Easy for you to say, Peter; you can hardly write as it is.”

Peter was about to reply, but Lois set a plate full of pancakes in front of her husband. Peter grinned and instantly shoveled in. Lois looked up at Brian and winked. He knew she had given the pancakes to Peter first so he’d stop teasing Brian.

As Lois returned to the stove, two more people entered the kitchen. The first, a heavy-set teenage boy who bore a strong resemblance to Peter, looked around the kitchen for a moment before sitting down. The other, an auburn-haired teenage girl who had a decent resemblance to Lois, yawned and sat as well. Brian knew these two were Chris and Meg, respectively.

“Hey mom,” Chris said as Brian finished gathering his papers together, “last nite, when I was doing my homework…”

Brian tuned out the conversation as he picked up his papers and walked out of the kitchen. He set the stack on the coffeetable in the living room and looked up as the household’s final occupant, a one-year-old boy, came down the stairs.

“Why didn’t anyone wake me up??” the child demanded.

“Stewie, you know Lois wakes you up after she makes breakfast,” Brian reminded him.

Stewie glanced at a nearby clock and groaned. “Dear god, I’m up early?? Well, I guess I might as well make the most of it.” He headed into the kitchen.

Brian stayed where he was for a moment, listening to the faint clamour of the Griffin family in the kitchen. He’d lived with these people for several years, and he’d grown fond of the dysfunctional family who’d taken him in when he had nothing. He’d had problems even then, but those had changed over time.

Brian shook his head. He really needed to keep his mind out of the past, even if it continued to come back to haunt him. Possibly the biggest problem he’d ever had involved his relationship with Lois. Of course, they were good friends, but over time he had come to realise his feelings for her ran much deeper than he thought. Lois knew how he felt, too, and was considerate enough to help steer him away from making a big mistake. Although Brian greatly appreciated her help, he knew his true feelings for her would never change.

Another majour problem he had faced was his son, Dylan. He had no idea he had conceived a child with a former girlfriend of his—named Tracy—until he had paid her a visit a couple of months ago. That was when she had dropped a bombshell on him in the form of their son. A couple of days later, Tracy left Dylan with him to raise, although the boy was already thirteen years old and copped a majourly-negative attitude. After the two had worked out the worst of their problems, they had grown very close, but Brian had unintentionally fallen into the role of an over-protective parent. Peter, who had grown annoyed with Brian’s behavior, called Tracy to come and take Dylan back.

Brian massaged his temples for a moment. He was certain a lot of his inner turmoil came from having his son taken away from him just as he was settling into being Dylan’s father.

“Brian, is everything okay??”

Brian looked up and into the concerned eyes of Lois. “Oh yes, everything… everything’s great.”

Lois didn’t look convinced. “It’s about Dylan, isn’t it??” she asked softly.

Brian quickly checked to see if anyone was eavesdropping before nodding. “Yeah… I-I didn’t think it would bother me this much.”

Lois knelt to his level. “It’s hard to have to let your children go. Believe me, once my children are old enough to move out, I’ll be very upset. Do you know why??” Brian shook his head. “It’s because I love them. It’s the same with you; you found out you had a son, and once you had the chance to raise him, you didn’t want him to go.”

Brian sighed. “It… was better that he left when he did, though, because he… he knew he needed to use what I taught him to help his mother.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you??”

“What??” Brian gaped at Lois. “That’s ridiculous. Dylan knew what he was doing… it was the right thing to do. It was…” His voice dropped in volume. “It was necessary. Tracy needs him more than I do, and—“ He broke off, notising Lois was giving him a disbelieving look. Suddenly Brian felt all the emotions he’d been holding back come rushing forth. “Oh god, you’re right.”

Lois smiled as she embraced Brian. She felt his body shake as he quietly cried. “Like I said,” she replied softly, “I understand what you’re feeling. Tell you what, once Peter goes to work and the kids are at school, I’ll take you to see Dylan.”

Brian gazed up at Lois, his tear-filled eyes showing both great sorrow and a bit of hope. “R-really??”

Lois nodded. “Of course. I think it will help you out in more ways than one as well. Besides, I’m sure Dylan would like to see you again, too.”

Brian smiled. “Thank you, Lois.”

“It’s no problem.” Lois straightened up. “Now let’s go into the kitchen and have some breakfast.”

--

After the family had eaten, Peter left for work while Chris and Meg went to school. Since Stewie was too young to be left at home by himself, Lois decided to take him along. While Lois was getting her son strapped into his car seat, Brian climbed into the front passenger seat. “Hey, hey Brian,” Stewie called from behind him.

Brian fastened his seat belt but didn’t turn around. “What??”

“Are you gonna cry again when you see Dylan??” Stewie teased.

“I don’t know, are you going to start acting gay around him again??” Brian shot back.

Stewie frowned. “I was not acting gay.”

Brian shook his head. “Yeah, right.”

Lois got into the driver’s seat and started up the car. “You two ready to go??”

“About as ready as I’m gonna be,” Brian replied. Strangely enough, Stewie was quiet.

Lois began driving down the road. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Brian began to feel a bit of apprehension. He’d been looking forward to the visit ever since Lois mentioned it, but now he began to worry about what would happen once they got there. What it Dylan didn’t want to see him?? What if Tracy didn’t want him near Dylan anymore?? What if Dylan had gone back to his old ways and disregarded everything Brian had taught him?? What if—

“Brian??”

Brian looked over at Lois. “Yes??”

“You’ve got that faraway look in your eyes, but you seem upset. What’s wrong??”

Brian closed his eyes for a moment. “I guess…” He paused and opened his eyes, keeping his gaze on the road. “I guess I’m just having second thoughts about this.”

Lois gave a comforting smile. “I understand. You really shouldn’t let those negative thoughts cloud your judgment. Keep an open mind, and you’ll do fine.”

Brian managed a smile. “Thanks.” Although he tried to keep his mind open, the doubts continued to bombard his thoughts.

Finally, Lois pulled the car into a driveway. Brian looked up and saw a grey mailbox with black letters reading “FLANNIGAN” across the front. The mailbox was hung right beside the front door. Brian could feel the apprehension escalating within him, almost seeming to suffocate him. He decided it was better not to say anything about this, but instead, he got out of the car. He waited while Lois took Stewie out, then they walked to the front door.

Brian took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. The silence that followed the muffled chime felt like it stretched on for a while. Finally, he heard footsteps shuffling around inside, followed by the click of the lock, and the door opened. Brian’s breath caught in his throat when he saw Dylan standing in the doorway. He wasn’t surprised the boy was there; it was the fact that he was dressed in his punk clothes—just like when Brian first met him.

Before anyone could say anything, Dylan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Dad??”

Brian found himself smiling, regardless if Dylan had gone back to his old ways or not. “Dylan, I’m so glad to see you again,” he said.

Dylan smiled as well. “I’m glad to see you, too, Dad.” He looked up at Lois and Stewie. “I see you’ve brought Mrs Griffin and Stewie as well.”

Stewie grinned broadly as Lois replied, “It’s great to see you again, Dylan. You can call me Lois, by the way.”

Dylan nodded and looked back at his father. “Come on in, everyone. I’ll make some iced tea for you.”

Brian sighed inwardly with relief. It sounded as though Dylan was the way Brian had taught him, although he was wearing the dark colours he’d worn before. He also had a silver hoop thru each ear and his hair was long and shaggy-looking again.

Lois nudged Brian gently. “Shall we go in??”

Brian snapped out of his thoughts. “Y-yeah, sure.”

The two entered the Flannigan household. Brian notised it was much cleaner than his last visit, although there were various items scattered here and there. Dylan picked up a stack of magazines from the coffeetable and put them next to the TV stand. “Sorry the house isn’t clean,” he apologised while clearing the couch of a few paper plates. “If I’d known you guys were coming, I’d have had the place cleaned up.”

Brian shook his head. “No, no, it’s okay. We should have called in advance.” He quickly glanced around. “By the way, where’s Tracy??”

“Mom’s in the shower right now,” Dylan explained. “She should be out in a few minutes.” He put the paper plates in the trash can. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to wash my hands, and then I’ll get that tea made. In the meantime, have a seat on the couch. Remote’s on the coffeetable if you want to watch some TV.”

Brian watched his son walk into the kitchen, and he felt his heart swell with pride. He could hardly believe Dylan was still as polite as ever, even without his supervision and influence. He couldn’t help but wonder why the boy was wearing his punk clothes, though, and he wondered how Tracy was faring, even though they had broken up long ago.

Lois sat on one side of the couch and motioned for Brian to sit as well. When Brian sat, Lois set Stewie on her lap and said, “Brian, it looks like Dylan has remembered what you taught him… he’s so polite and well-behaved.”

Brian nodded, smiling. “Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself.”

Lois patted Brian’s head. “Well, he had a great father and mentor.”

“Thank you,” Brian replied.

A few minutes later, Dylan returned from the kitchen with four glasses in one hand and a pitcher of tea in the other. “Sorry it took a little while,” he apologised. “I’d misplaced the tea bags, so I had to hunt around for them.”

“It’s okay,” Lois replied as Dylan set the pitcher on the table. “Brian and I were just talking a bit.” Brian nodded his agreement.

“That’s good.” Dylan carefully poured the tea into three of the glasses, first handing one to Brian, then one to Lois and one for himself. Lois let Stewie take a drink from her glass as Dylan sat on the chair nearby the couch. “So how have things been going??”

Brian forcefully swallowed his mouthful of tea before replying, “Er… good. Things have been going pretty well lately.”

Lois shot him a look. “Well, about as good as things can go for our family,” she added.

Dylan nodded, apparently missing Lois’ glare. “Yeah, it’s pretty much the same for us here, too.”

Lois sighed, realising Dylan obviously wasn’t sensing Brian’s distress. “Oh, ah… I think I need to take Stewie outside for a few minutes.”

Stewie, who was in the middle of getting another drink of tea, spit it out in surprise. “What??” he almost yelled. “I don’t need to go anywhere, you vile—“

Lois put her hand over Stewie’s mouth, preventing him from saying anything else. “See?? He’s getting a bit cranky. I’ll be right back.” She stood and carried her son out thru the front door.

Brian gazed at the door, really wishing Lois would come back. He knew she had deliberately left so he and Dylan could have some time alone, but now that he was in the position he’d wanted to be in ever since he had to watch his son walk out the front door of the Griffin household several weeks ago, he suddenly wanted the company of Lois to help him out.

“Dad, what’s really on your mind??”

Brian turned to his son, feeling foolish. “Wh-what do you mean??” he asked, trying to sound calm. He had a feeling it didn’t work.

Dylan’s expression was serious. “I know something’s wrong, dad, otherwise you wouldn’t have come here, especially with Mrs Griffin. It hasn’t been very long since we last saw each other, either, so it’s gotta be something serious.”

Brian chuckled nervously. “Wow, you were with me for a couple of weeks, but you’ve already got me figured out.”

“Kinda easy to do, considering I’m your son.”

“True.” Brian lowered his gaze. “It’s not overly-important or anything, but I…” He looked at his son’s face, deep into the boy’s ebony eyes. “I just wanted to see you again, Dylan. You’re my son, my only child, and I really… I really love you. I’ve been worried that I’d never see you again. I thought you would abandon everything I had taught you and go back to the way you were when I first met you.”

Dylan smiled warmly. “It’s okay, dad. I’d never go back to the way I was. I’ve even used what you taught me to help out mom, too.” He glanced at his attire and chuckled. “I guess my clothes threw you off, huh??” Brian nodded, not wanting to say anything at the moment. “Well, although I didn’t mind wearing the clothes you had bought for me, I felt more comfortable wearing these. I hope you don’t mind.”

Brian shook his head, tears beginning to blur his vision. “Not at all.”

“Dad…” Dylan gazed at his father. “I know you’ve said it a lot, but I’ve never said it much. I just want you to know that no matter what, I love you, and nothing will ever change that. I know you and mom will probably never get back together, but she loves you, too. We both have a great love for you that will never go away, no matter what happens.”

“It’s the truth, Brian.”

Brian looked up in surprise at Tracy, who was standing in the doorway to the living room. “Tracy…!!”

Although she wasn’t as thin or beautiful as she had been when Brian first met her, Tracy was definitely much thinner than she had been when he had last seen her. He also didn’t see a cigarette in her hand or any packs lying around, so he quickly assumed she had kicked her smoking habit. Tracy nodded after Brian’s exclamation and said, “Yes, Brian, it’s me. I know I’m not the same as I was before, but thanks to you helping out our son, I’m on my way to going back to the way I was then. As for what Dylan said, I agree completely with him.” She moved forward to stand beside the chair her son was seated in and put a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get back together, and right now it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we both love you very much.”

Brian smiled, the tears now streaming down his face. “I love both of you, too,” he said softly.

The three moved together to embrace, none of them needing to say anything more.

--

“So, did things go as planned??” Lois asked. She, Brian and Stewie were back in her car, and she was driving them all home. After Brian had his talk with Dylan and Tracy, Lois had come back inside and soon thereafter, Brian, Lois and Stewie left.

Brian nodded. “Yeah… well, not exactly as planned, but I feel much better having seen both Dylan and Tracy.”

“Do you think you’ll need to see them again anytime soon??”

Brian didn’t answer right away, although he already knew his answer. Instead, he thought about what he had seen and what he thought would happen in the near Future to his ex-girlfriend and his son. He took a deep breath and replied, “I’d like to see them as much as possible, but I don’t think I’d need to see them anytime soon. They seem to be doing just fine, which is great.”