Smoke & Lightning : Whatever Comes Our Way (27/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : Whatever Comes Our Way (27/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 2,219
Rating: Adult.
Summary: The boys have a new family and face a whole new set of challenges and possibilities. But they can handle it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
( master post)
It was the middle of Sunday morning when Jensen returned from the hospital. He had wound up working all night and he was frazzled. He'd been tired to begin with, but now he felt on the verge of falling on his face. John drove him home, in fact, because he didn't trust himself on the Triumph. He had called Jared as soon as he knew that he would be more than a few hours, and Kenzie had stayed over with Phin to help with the kids. Jared had insisted he could cope, but agreed that with Hannah still in her wheelchair, having Jensen's sister there would probably make life a whole lot easier.
He said goodbye to John outside, the other man looking just as tired as he felt, and dragged his feet up the porch steps. Jared opened the door before he got to it, and Jensen fell gratefully into his open arms.
"Here," Jared said, "I've got you. Come on, let's get you inside."
Jensen didn't really notice much of what Jared said, just let himself be led to the couch where he was practically dropped onto the cushions. He slid sideways until his head hit a cushion and didn't register the noise of sympathy that Kenzie made at the sight of him.
"Do you want something to eat?" Jared asked. "Some coffee?"
"God, yes. Coffee."
"I'm pretty sure that's about all you have flowing in your veins right now," Jared told him, amused. Then his tone changed and he lightly touched Jensen's face. "How was it?"
Jensen forced his eyes open and looked up at Jared. "Rough," he said. His expression told Jared everything else.
"You want to talk about it?"
He shook his head. "Later."
"Okay. The kids are out with your mom and Rock, by the way. That's how come the house is so quiet. So just relax and if you want to fall asleep then go right ahead."
Jensen didn't need telling twice. He allowed the heaviness of his limbs to set in and didn't fight it, and the next thing he knew there was the sound of a door closing and a warm feeling on his bare feet. He cracked open an eye and saw he hadn't moved, but that Kenzie was gone and Jared had removed his boots and socks, turned him so he was stretched out the entire length of the couch. He rubbed at his eyes as he sat up. He didn't feel particularly lively, but he at least felt a little better than he had.
"Hey," Jared said, as he came back into the room. "Kenzie just left," he added, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Are you ready for something to eat yet?"
Jensen's stomach rumbled in answer and Jared held a hand up with a grin. "Say no more. Come on, follow me." Jared reached a hand out and pulled Jensen up off the couch when he took hold of it. Jensen would have complained at being treated like he needed help if he wasn't so tired and didn't, in fact, need the help. As Jared led him to the kitchen, the delicious smell of something homecooked hit him. He sniffed the air, made a noise of surprise.
"What is that?" he asked.
"Kenzie and me, we uh-" Jared stopped as Jensen stopped short in the archway. The kitchen table had been laid with a cloth and cutlery, dishes sat ready for food, and Jared had even gone so far as to light a candle in the center of the table.
"Did I forget someone's birthday?" Jensen asked, looking round at Jared in confusion.
"No, I just thought... You know, Hannah and Matty won't be back until late so we have the house to ourselves for the afternoon. What's left of it. And, well, I'm sorry for being an ass last night. I warned you, though."
Jensen laughed at the memory. "Yes, you did."
"Come on, let's eat. I'm starved."
The food was good and Jensen savored it. He knew Kenzie had likely had a bigger part in the meal than Jared, but he didn't much care when it was so delicious. After a while, though, he became aware that Jared was watching him and he rested his knife and fork against the sides of his plate. He leant his chin against one hand and smiled. "What?" he asked.
"I love watching you, that's all. And what was that phone call all about?"
"Ah," Jensen said, the smile turning into a grin. "I wondered when you'd ask." He paused, took a sip of his beer, mostly to tease Jared. At the impatient sigh he continued, "I was nominated for an award. By my old hospital. And by the new one."
"What, like..a sexy doctor award?"
Jensen rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, you'd win hands down," Jared deadpanned, and Jensen couldn't fight the smile then. "Doctor of the year then?"
"Something like that. There are awards for different fields and pediatrics is one of them." Jensen reached his hands across the table and Jared took them, squeezed his fingers.
"That's awesome."
"Yeah, it is. I don't know that I'd win, but, you know, it felt really good to think that someone appreciates me for that. It makes me want to give up the general practice and maybe look at specialising in something. More specific, I mean. I don't know, I'll ask John what he thinks, speak to someone at the hospital about it."
Jared let go of him, nodding. "That's a great idea."
"I was trying to get excited about it," Jensen continued. "It was really hard. I mean, I am excited about it. I don't know how far I'll get, but the possibility of it is exciting. It was just tough today. This morning. Last night. Long night, too, with everything that happened."
"What happened?"
"We lost two of the patients. Mother and daughter. Dad's still in critical condition."
"Christ," Jared breathed.
"Makes you think, doesn't it? We're really lucky, Jared. I love that we have this family and each other and-"
"Jensen," Jared interrupted. "Come on, man, you'll start me off." Jensen dipped his head and Jared reached for him again. "Have you eaten enough?"
"Why?"
"I kind of want to take you upstairs and do unmentionable things to you."
Jensen looked down at what was left on his plate, and then back up at Jared. "Are you trying to tell me there's no dessert?"
Jensen lay back in bed, watching Jared brush his teeth through the door that opened on to their bathroom. He felt sated and warm, his limbs heavy. Jared leaned forward to spit out the toothpaste and placed his toothbrush back in the holder. Jared came back to him then, running his tongue over his teeth as he did. He leaned over the side of the bed and Jensen murmured in appreciation as Jared kissed him, all minty and fresh.
"Better than having ass-breath when everyone comes home," he'd said earlier, right before Jensen threw a pillow at him and told him to get out. Now he grinned at the pleased look on Jensen's face.
"Did that make you feel better?" he asked.
"It was a start," Jensen told him, his eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. He glanced at the clock. "Kids'll be home soon. We should get up."
"Nah. I will get up. I'll leave you here to get some more sleep. You need it."
Jensen thought about arguing, but Jared was right. He was tired, especially after that, and he could do with some more rest after the previous couple of days. He nodded tiredly and Jared kissed him again, this time in the center of his forehead.
"G'night, gorgeous," Jared said. "See you later."
It was starting to get dark the next time Jensen woke up. He could hear voices downstairs and he felt thirsty and hungry again. He got up and pulled his jeans up his legs, found a t-shirt that was probably Jared's which he also pulled on as he went downstairs. Sure enough, his mom was down there with Hannah and Matty and Jensen knew as soon as his mother looked up at him that Jared had already given her the news. She came to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, and told him she was so proud of him. He grinned, patted her back as he hugged her back. He saw Jared mouthing an apology at him over her shoulder.
"You couldn't wait, huh?" he teased, as he let his mom go.
Jared shrugged. "You know me. Can't trust me with secrets." He winked and turned back to the game he'd paused. Jensen was unsurprised to see that it was one of Matty's favorites and that they were playing together.
"You've done so well, Jensen," his mom continued, turning to look over her shoulder at the rest of his family. She met his eyes again. "I'm really glad."
Jensen nodded thoughtfully. A lot, a hell of a lot of his life would not have happened if he had never met Jared. He knew that. They both did. "Thanks," was all he could say.
"Are you hungry?"
"I could eat. But Mom, I can-"
"Just go and sit down. I'll fix everyone a snack before I go."
He knew better than to argue, and only dropped a kiss on his mom's cheek before padding through to where Jared was sat with their kids. Hannah was on the smaller sofa by herself, her leg propped up on cushions. She looked tired and Jensen knew it wouldn't be all that long before they were putting her to bed. He ruffled her hair as he went by and she looked up at him, smiling brightly.
"Did you have a good day today, sweetie?" he asked, as he sat down on one of the armchairs. "What did you do?"
"We went to the park and then we got to go watch the ducks. We gave them all some bread."
"And we went to see a movie!" Matty called, not taking his eyes off the screen where he was beating Jared easily.
"Oh yeah? Sounds like fun. And here all me and Dad did was have a nice, quiet afternoon. So, so quiet." Jensen laughed as Hannah threw one of her soft toys at him, catching it in one hand and tossing it gently back. "I'm kidding! You know we missed you both today."
"You were asleep for half of it," Jared pointed out.
"And still missing them. You hush, nobody asked you."
Jared stuck his tongue out, then whirled his head back around as Matty let out a triumphant whoop. He was just in time to see his character being thoroughly defeated. Jared heaved a huge sigh, told Jensen that he blamed him for everything, and then gave up his controller.
"Hey, come on, Dad! You said if I won-"
"Your Daddy distracted me."
"No excuses, you said," Matty told him. Jensen watched the exchange, his amusement growing.
"What did he promise to do?" he asked.
Jared pointed at Jensen. "You need to leave the room."
"Oh, really?" Jensen folded his arms across his chest and stayed right where he was.
"I'm serious. If you stay then this is not gonna end well."
"Jared, don't be melodramatic." His mom's voice surprised him and he turned as she passed a plate filled with tuna sandwiches over the back of his chair. He took it gratefully and set it down as his mom leaned against the back of his chair and looked at Jared. "You did promise."
"Yeah, Dad!" Hannah said.
"You're supposed to be on my side!" Jared reminded her. But they all only watched him expectantly. He looked at all of them and his shoulders sagged. "Fine. You asked for it."
Jensen didn't know exactly what he'd asked for until about ten minutes later, when he finally recovered from laughing so hard that it hurt. His mom was in the kitchen, holding onto one of the counters as she laughed silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. Matty had sat on the floor in front of Hannah and they were both doubled over. When Jared had started his little routine, he was the only one not laughing. Now, though, he seemed just as amused as the rest of them. He got up from the floor, panting for breath.
"Yeah, so...I've never seen it done like that. And the song... That was..." Jensen stopped, trying to think of a good description. "Different," was what he settled for.
"It felt weird without music," Jared told him, and that just set Jensen off laughing again. Jared approached him and he raised both hands, yelling no at him as he tried to hold him off. He was unsuccessful and Jared wound up sprawled against him in the armchair, fingers tickling at every inch of bare skin he could get to. He didn't stop until Donna came over and whacked the back of his head lightly.
"You leave my son alone," she joked. "Honestly. You two are worse than your children."
Jared relaxed, turning until he was just about flopped on Jensen's lap. "Love you too, mom," he said cheekily, tilting his head back to grin at her. "Love you too."
tbc
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 2,219
Rating: Adult.
Summary: The boys have a new family and face a whole new set of challenges and possibilities. But they can handle it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
( master post)
It was the middle of Sunday morning when Jensen returned from the hospital. He had wound up working all night and he was frazzled. He'd been tired to begin with, but now he felt on the verge of falling on his face. John drove him home, in fact, because he didn't trust himself on the Triumph. He had called Jared as soon as he knew that he would be more than a few hours, and Kenzie had stayed over with Phin to help with the kids. Jared had insisted he could cope, but agreed that with Hannah still in her wheelchair, having Jensen's sister there would probably make life a whole lot easier.
He said goodbye to John outside, the other man looking just as tired as he felt, and dragged his feet up the porch steps. Jared opened the door before he got to it, and Jensen fell gratefully into his open arms.
"Here," Jared said, "I've got you. Come on, let's get you inside."
Jensen didn't really notice much of what Jared said, just let himself be led to the couch where he was practically dropped onto the cushions. He slid sideways until his head hit a cushion and didn't register the noise of sympathy that Kenzie made at the sight of him.
"Do you want something to eat?" Jared asked. "Some coffee?"
"God, yes. Coffee."
"I'm pretty sure that's about all you have flowing in your veins right now," Jared told him, amused. Then his tone changed and he lightly touched Jensen's face. "How was it?"
Jensen forced his eyes open and looked up at Jared. "Rough," he said. His expression told Jared everything else.
"You want to talk about it?"
He shook his head. "Later."
"Okay. The kids are out with your mom and Rock, by the way. That's how come the house is so quiet. So just relax and if you want to fall asleep then go right ahead."
Jensen didn't need telling twice. He allowed the heaviness of his limbs to set in and didn't fight it, and the next thing he knew there was the sound of a door closing and a warm feeling on his bare feet. He cracked open an eye and saw he hadn't moved, but that Kenzie was gone and Jared had removed his boots and socks, turned him so he was stretched out the entire length of the couch. He rubbed at his eyes as he sat up. He didn't feel particularly lively, but he at least felt a little better than he had.
"Hey," Jared said, as he came back into the room. "Kenzie just left," he added, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Are you ready for something to eat yet?"
Jensen's stomach rumbled in answer and Jared held a hand up with a grin. "Say no more. Come on, follow me." Jared reached a hand out and pulled Jensen up off the couch when he took hold of it. Jensen would have complained at being treated like he needed help if he wasn't so tired and didn't, in fact, need the help. As Jared led him to the kitchen, the delicious smell of something homecooked hit him. He sniffed the air, made a noise of surprise.
"What is that?" he asked.
"Kenzie and me, we uh-" Jared stopped as Jensen stopped short in the archway. The kitchen table had been laid with a cloth and cutlery, dishes sat ready for food, and Jared had even gone so far as to light a candle in the center of the table.
"Did I forget someone's birthday?" Jensen asked, looking round at Jared in confusion.
"No, I just thought... You know, Hannah and Matty won't be back until late so we have the house to ourselves for the afternoon. What's left of it. And, well, I'm sorry for being an ass last night. I warned you, though."
Jensen laughed at the memory. "Yes, you did."
"Come on, let's eat. I'm starved."
The food was good and Jensen savored it. He knew Kenzie had likely had a bigger part in the meal than Jared, but he didn't much care when it was so delicious. After a while, though, he became aware that Jared was watching him and he rested his knife and fork against the sides of his plate. He leant his chin against one hand and smiled. "What?" he asked.
"I love watching you, that's all. And what was that phone call all about?"
"Ah," Jensen said, the smile turning into a grin. "I wondered when you'd ask." He paused, took a sip of his beer, mostly to tease Jared. At the impatient sigh he continued, "I was nominated for an award. By my old hospital. And by the new one."
"What, like..a sexy doctor award?"
Jensen rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, you'd win hands down," Jared deadpanned, and Jensen couldn't fight the smile then. "Doctor of the year then?"
"Something like that. There are awards for different fields and pediatrics is one of them." Jensen reached his hands across the table and Jared took them, squeezed his fingers.
"That's awesome."
"Yeah, it is. I don't know that I'd win, but, you know, it felt really good to think that someone appreciates me for that. It makes me want to give up the general practice and maybe look at specialising in something. More specific, I mean. I don't know, I'll ask John what he thinks, speak to someone at the hospital about it."
Jared let go of him, nodding. "That's a great idea."
"I was trying to get excited about it," Jensen continued. "It was really hard. I mean, I am excited about it. I don't know how far I'll get, but the possibility of it is exciting. It was just tough today. This morning. Last night. Long night, too, with everything that happened."
"What happened?"
"We lost two of the patients. Mother and daughter. Dad's still in critical condition."
"Christ," Jared breathed.
"Makes you think, doesn't it? We're really lucky, Jared. I love that we have this family and each other and-"
"Jensen," Jared interrupted. "Come on, man, you'll start me off." Jensen dipped his head and Jared reached for him again. "Have you eaten enough?"
"Why?"
"I kind of want to take you upstairs and do unmentionable things to you."
Jensen looked down at what was left on his plate, and then back up at Jared. "Are you trying to tell me there's no dessert?"
Jensen lay back in bed, watching Jared brush his teeth through the door that opened on to their bathroom. He felt sated and warm, his limbs heavy. Jared leaned forward to spit out the toothpaste and placed his toothbrush back in the holder. Jared came back to him then, running his tongue over his teeth as he did. He leaned over the side of the bed and Jensen murmured in appreciation as Jared kissed him, all minty and fresh.
"Better than having ass-breath when everyone comes home," he'd said earlier, right before Jensen threw a pillow at him and told him to get out. Now he grinned at the pleased look on Jensen's face.
"Did that make you feel better?" he asked.
"It was a start," Jensen told him, his eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. He glanced at the clock. "Kids'll be home soon. We should get up."
"Nah. I will get up. I'll leave you here to get some more sleep. You need it."
Jensen thought about arguing, but Jared was right. He was tired, especially after that, and he could do with some more rest after the previous couple of days. He nodded tiredly and Jared kissed him again, this time in the center of his forehead.
"G'night, gorgeous," Jared said. "See you later."
It was starting to get dark the next time Jensen woke up. He could hear voices downstairs and he felt thirsty and hungry again. He got up and pulled his jeans up his legs, found a t-shirt that was probably Jared's which he also pulled on as he went downstairs. Sure enough, his mom was down there with Hannah and Matty and Jensen knew as soon as his mother looked up at him that Jared had already given her the news. She came to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, and told him she was so proud of him. He grinned, patted her back as he hugged her back. He saw Jared mouthing an apology at him over her shoulder.
"You couldn't wait, huh?" he teased, as he let his mom go.
Jared shrugged. "You know me. Can't trust me with secrets." He winked and turned back to the game he'd paused. Jensen was unsurprised to see that it was one of Matty's favorites and that they were playing together.
"You've done so well, Jensen," his mom continued, turning to look over her shoulder at the rest of his family. She met his eyes again. "I'm really glad."
Jensen nodded thoughtfully. A lot, a hell of a lot of his life would not have happened if he had never met Jared. He knew that. They both did. "Thanks," was all he could say.
"Are you hungry?"
"I could eat. But Mom, I can-"
"Just go and sit down. I'll fix everyone a snack before I go."
He knew better than to argue, and only dropped a kiss on his mom's cheek before padding through to where Jared was sat with their kids. Hannah was on the smaller sofa by herself, her leg propped up on cushions. She looked tired and Jensen knew it wouldn't be all that long before they were putting her to bed. He ruffled her hair as he went by and she looked up at him, smiling brightly.
"Did you have a good day today, sweetie?" he asked, as he sat down on one of the armchairs. "What did you do?"
"We went to the park and then we got to go watch the ducks. We gave them all some bread."
"And we went to see a movie!" Matty called, not taking his eyes off the screen where he was beating Jared easily.
"Oh yeah? Sounds like fun. And here all me and Dad did was have a nice, quiet afternoon. So, so quiet." Jensen laughed as Hannah threw one of her soft toys at him, catching it in one hand and tossing it gently back. "I'm kidding! You know we missed you both today."
"You were asleep for half of it," Jared pointed out.
"And still missing them. You hush, nobody asked you."
Jared stuck his tongue out, then whirled his head back around as Matty let out a triumphant whoop. He was just in time to see his character being thoroughly defeated. Jared heaved a huge sigh, told Jensen that he blamed him for everything, and then gave up his controller.
"Hey, come on, Dad! You said if I won-"
"Your Daddy distracted me."
"No excuses, you said," Matty told him. Jensen watched the exchange, his amusement growing.
"What did he promise to do?" he asked.
Jared pointed at Jensen. "You need to leave the room."
"Oh, really?" Jensen folded his arms across his chest and stayed right where he was.
"I'm serious. If you stay then this is not gonna end well."
"Jared, don't be melodramatic." His mom's voice surprised him and he turned as she passed a plate filled with tuna sandwiches over the back of his chair. He took it gratefully and set it down as his mom leaned against the back of his chair and looked at Jared. "You did promise."
"Yeah, Dad!" Hannah said.
"You're supposed to be on my side!" Jared reminded her. But they all only watched him expectantly. He looked at all of them and his shoulders sagged. "Fine. You asked for it."
Jensen didn't know exactly what he'd asked for until about ten minutes later, when he finally recovered from laughing so hard that it hurt. His mom was in the kitchen, holding onto one of the counters as she laughed silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. Matty had sat on the floor in front of Hannah and they were both doubled over. When Jared had started his little routine, he was the only one not laughing. Now, though, he seemed just as amused as the rest of them. He got up from the floor, panting for breath.
"Yeah, so...I've never seen it done like that. And the song... That was..." Jensen stopped, trying to think of a good description. "Different," was what he settled for.
"It felt weird without music," Jared told him, and that just set Jensen off laughing again. Jared approached him and he raised both hands, yelling no at him as he tried to hold him off. He was unsuccessful and Jared wound up sprawled against him in the armchair, fingers tickling at every inch of bare skin he could get to. He didn't stop until Donna came over and whacked the back of his head lightly.
"You leave my son alone," she joked. "Honestly. You two are worse than your children."
Jared relaxed, turning until he was just about flopped on Jensen's lap. "Love you too, mom," he said cheekily, tilting his head back to grin at her. "Love you too."
tbc