Brian's mind is definitely an angsty place! Last year, I wrote a fic in which Claire comes to Brian's on Christmas Eve to inform him that his mother had passed away earlier that day. I'm still toying with a sequel for that one, because I felt like there were so many unresolved issues pertaining to Brian and the trajectory of where his emotions would go. We'll see what happens. If you ever write a follow-up to this, I'd LOVE to know :)