As Long As We Have Each Other (Part Five)
Fic Title: As Long As We Have Each Other
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom/Genre: RPS, future, post-apocalyptic setting
Pairing(s): Jared/Jensen
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 26,000+
Warning: underage (Jensen is 17, Jared is 15 though it's not specifically mentioned)
Summary: Jensen Ackles barely remembered what life was like without Wacey 1003 at his side. It had been three years since the two had been bonded to control the Wacey's psychic ability and there was still no sign of him actually waking from the walking coma he was in. Jensen just had to take care of him the best he could.
Things start to fall apart though as Jensen learns that the military he has worked for since he'd been a Wacey himself has suspicious plans for him. When all hell breaks loose and a mission goes wrong, will Jensen be able to get his Wacey back to base safely? Or will their path taken them on a far different journey?
It felt odd waking in the village, but Jensen was learning to get used to it. Jared was at his side when he woke each morning, his ridiculously happy smile greeting Jensen. Jensen wasn’t a morning person unless he had a drill sergeant on his ass but he couldn’t help but smile at Jared in the mornings, pull him close, and take his mouth in gentle kisses that became more passionate as they continued.
Each morning, Jensen pulled away from it before it got too far. Jared understood, though he complained a lot about Jensen being the death of him.
Today, breakfast was cinnamon rolls with icing that Jared kept licking off his fingers which just reminded Jensen of the times he’d get Jared candy when he was still in the walking coma. He watched with an indulgent smile until Jared looked up. He seemed to follow Jensen’s thoughts again and smiled back. “You weren’t supposed to give me candy, you know.”
“I know. Bad alpha.”
“They’re here,” Jim came walking into the room where Samantha was cleaning up one of the tables. “Colin and Brock.”
Samantha nodded, swiping the table with her rag one last time before she threw it on the bar in the back. “Come on boys, time you met someone.”
There was a small crowd gathered outside of Samantha’s place and Jensen felt the pull of a familiar power. He shoved Jared backwards, coming to stand between him and the two boys. The crowd moved around when the older boy followed Jensen’s move precisely.
Jensen could feel Jared’s concern but there was no hiding the flash of amusement his beta felt.
“Jensen, Brock, both of you calm down!” Jim yelled out.
“I’ll back mine off if you promise to back yours off,” Jared called over Jensen’s shoulder to the young boy that was trying to see past the other alpha.
“Name’s Colin,” the kid answered Jared.
“Jared. Now, Jensen, can you let me pass so I can go shake the kid’s hand?”
Jensen let out a deep breath as Jared’s hand reached the nape of his neck, taking in the comfort and confidence that was Jared. He didn’t know how Jared did it. Jensen had been confused and disoriented when he’d first woke from the walking coma. That Jared was able to move on was amazing. Jared said it was just because he’d kept his memories but Jensen wasn’t so sure about that.
Jensen let Jared go past him but Jared was smart enough to make the kid come out to him and not get too close to the other alpha. The two betas shook hands and looked between Jensen and Brock.
Jensen finally gave. “I’m not here to fight.”
“Not anymore,” Jim supplied. Instead of making him pissed though, it made Jensen smile. Brock seemed to loosen up at that.
“Sorry. He just woke up two months ago,” Brock said as if that made all the sense in the world. Jensen could see that to the others it really didn’t, but Jensen understood.
“A few days after the wall came down,” Jensen said with a nod to Jared.
“No shit?”
Jensen smiled and walked closer, offering the alpha his hand. “Jensen Ackles.”
“Brock Kelly. Saw your handiwork when you hit the wall. You’ve got a real fine touch. Nothing Colin and I can’t fix, but you would have had the whole thing down if your beta hadn’t flipped out. What happened anyway?”
Jensen could feel the curiosity on the other man and he let all the fear and concern roll out of him. “I got hit by some fragments when you guys let off the first round of explosives. The captain in charge tried to take my beta and leave me behind.”
Brock cringed. “Mics are not the sharpest.”
Jensen snorted. “Yeah. Jared opened up on the entire area to keep everyone from firing at us.”
“You should be proud of him,” Brock said and it might have been condescending from anyone else, but from an alpha outside of the military ranks it seemed like a badge of honor.
Jensen nodded. “Damn proud, just don’t tell him.”
Jared was listening in on the whole thing though and Jared just smiled at Colin. “We’ll wait until they’re gone to start swapping stories.”
Colin agreed. “It’ll make them worry more about what we’re saying.”
The two betas gave them a mischievous grin in stereo and Jensen sighed. It was like Jared had a mini-me now. “Awesome.”
“You boys going to get some work done or just sit around to see how pretty your betas are in the shiny, fluffy day?” Jim asked gruffly.
It set them both laughing and then Brock and Colin headed down towards the wall. Jared and Jensen followed, as did half the villagers still in town. Most had already been sent off to other villages in their network but they had a group living there until the enemy was upon them again. This time, they wouldn’t bother fighting. They were going to let them leave an empty shell of a village in their wake.
Jared came to stand just behind Jensen with his head resting on his shoulder. Brock and Colin stood in front of the wreck that was the wall. Large chunks were lying on the ground on either side of the field and it looked like too massive a job for the two men. Brock stood behind his beta though and put his hands on his shoulders, as if to ground them.
Jensen felt his own bonds to Jared opening up as he watched the other two. Jared’s awareness flowed into his mind, as well as his awe of the two young men.
“Never went to the Great Cities,” Samantha said as she and Jim joined them. “Home raised and home grown. There are other ways.”
As Jensen watched the great stone hunks being lifted off the ground with Colin’s telekinesis, he finally started to believe.
**
They’d been alone for three days before Jensen started getting antsy. The wall was repaired and Jensen couldn’t help but be impressed with the way Brock and Colin had worked together to get it done. The men and woman of the village didn’t look away from it either. They fully accepted the alpha and beta into the community and they were genuinely cared for. It was a nice sentiment and if they could have just run, Jensen would have gone with them. It wasn’t that easy for them though. Colin and Brock had been kept from the Unified Cities. No one was looking for them. Not only had Jared not come home though, he’d attacked their soldiers. They would be back for Jared.
Jensen just had no idea what form it would take.
He had run so many scenarios in his head that he was completely taken aback when it did happen. Two figures walked up to the gate and waited patiently outside for it to be opened.
Jensen released the lever and watched as Collins and his Wacey stepped into town. He closed the gate behind them and walked down the stairs to stand in front of the EB unit.
“Ackles? We heard you were hurt. Are you in need of medical assistance?”
“No, I’m fine. I was injured in the fight but I’ve healed. You aren’t here to check my health though.”
Collins looked at him, then looked around the deserted village. “What did you do?”
Jensen looked at him for a second, then understood where Collins’ mind had taken him. “I didn’t punish my Wacey for the attack. Pileggi ordered the men to leave me behind and take him. Pileggi screwed up the order, not Jay.”
“Jay? 1003?”
Jensen nodded. “He’s fine but Pileggi should have known that a Wacey will always protect himself or his alpha when backed into a corner. If they’d just trained him to understand this would have all turned out a lot different.”
“Where is he Ackles?”
“Around.”
“You aren’t worried about him?”
Jensen knew Collins was confused but Jensen was trying to get a read on his friend. Reading thoughts had taken some time to get used to, but it was different with an alpha. They were trained to keep another person from digging too deep into their head. He had him now though.
“He woke. I was hurt and he took care of me. Woke up by himself. Didn’t have to sever us or anything.”
Collins flinched back from the words the way any decent alpha would, but Jensen knew Collins had been aware of the issue.
“Is it… is it as bad as they said?” He asked.
Jensen let out a deep breath and shook his head. “It’s all bullshit. He’s not taking over my head or pushing into my space any more than he did when he was asleep. In fact, I think I’ll keep him.”
“You can’t.”
“I can. And no one is going to stop us. I don’t want trouble. I just want to be left alone so Jared and I can figure things out.”
Collins was confused, unsettled and Jensen knew it was time. He pushed on the bond to get Jared moving. A second later Jared walked out of the house closest to the wall and came straight for them. “Good to officially met you, Collins,” Jared said with a smile. “I’m Jared.”
He offered his hand and Collins took it after a few minutes hesitation. Jared looked at the Wacey then and Jensen felt his apprehension.
“Yeah, it’s unsettling, isn’t it?”
Jared nodded and Jensen knew it would take a little while to get used to the fact that he’d been just like her. “Hotter though,” Jensen said just to make Collins’ mouth drop and Jared’s face turn beet red.
Jared sputtered for a second while Jensen laughed.
“You’re an empath now then, right?” Collins asked awkwardly. “Are you able to get anything from me?”
“You’re a little worried that Jensen is off his rocker, which he probably is. He’s been taking care of me for three years so that would do it. You’re worried about your Wacey, but she isn’t worried. She knows you’ll protect her.”
“He’s strong,” Collins whispered, looking over at Jensen. Newly severed betas could rarely get past an alpha’s protective shielding.
“No, Jensen is,” Jared said. He looked down at his hands and they sizzled and popped with electricity. “I’m still an electropath.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” Jensen cut in, “but Jared has all his memories, Collins. No blurred remembrance or changed powers. He’s as strong as they day we bonded and then some. Plus he’s picking up on my abilities.”
“And you’ve always had mine,” Jared added.
Jensen scowled at him but Jared seemed to like causing Jensen to sweat like that. He still didn’t understand how he’d taken Jared’s power before. He hadn’t been able to do it since Jared told him he had and they’d tried a few times.
“This is nothing like we expected,” Collins said softly. “We were expecting you to be severely injured and 1003 to be wild.”
“We’re not, but Collins, we aren’t going back. They planned to sever us the day after our last mission. We overheard one of the doctors talking to Pileggi about it. I would have fought tooth and nail to keep my Wacey until he woke. Now that he’s awake? There is nothing this side of hell that is going to take him from me.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“We do,” Jared said, stepping up so that his shoulder brushed Jensen’s back.
“Jared’s power didn’t change. He has his memories. I think it’s because he hasn’t been severed. We’ve seen another alpha-beta bond and it was nothing like ours. We don’t have to lose our betas just because the government wants us to.”
“If all this is true, then why would the government do this to us?” Collins asked.
Jensen didn’t have an answer for that. He felt Jared’s curiosity though and he looked over his shoulder at his beta.
“I think we need to find out. We deserved to know the truth. Three years of our lives have been taken from us. We’ve killed and been injured and we don’t even know why anymore. Jensen, we need to know. And we need to let the others know there is another way.”
Collins was looking at his Wacey and she walked forward, touching Jensen’s cheek again. Jared didn’t try to stop her, but dropped his chin over Jensen’s shoulder to watch and - to Jensen’s great amusement - partially to stake his claim on his alpha.
“Guess those instincts go both ways,” Jensen said softly as he looked at Jared.
Jared rolled his eyes but the corners of his lips were turned up again. “Shush. I attacked a truck full of soldiers to protect you. You’ve got some catching up to do.”
It was Jensen’s turn to roll his eyes. “Three years. Three years and you think one incident proves you care?”
Collins watched their banter in surprise but the Wacey dropped her hand and turned back to Collins, touching him the same way. He pulled back slightly but she followed him and he allowed the touch. “I … she isn’t tactile.”
“Maybe she is and she was afraid to try it?” Jared suggested.
“Were you ever concerned with your alpha?” Collins asked. He didn’t seem to be paying them any attention but Jared answered anyway.
“Yes, but I pushed often until I knew how far I could get away with things. We aren’t mindless when we’re Waceys. We’re just not really capable of focusing on things or vocalizing explanations for things.”
Jensen figured it was as close to remembering the bond as he was ever going to get and he was happy enough with that. If he could only remember one bond clearly, he was happy with this one.
“What will you do, Collins?”
The alpha looked at them and sighed. “I think … I need to know the truth. 1023 deserves the truth as well.”
“She has a name, Misha,” Jared demanded.
“I … I don’t know it.”
“How can you not know?” Jared asked.
“We aren’t given your files,” Jensen explained. “I got your out of curiosity after we bonded. Remember the Doc got on me for calling you Sasquatch?” Jared nodded. “Yeah, we’re not supposed to call you anything other than Wacey, beta, or your identification number. It’s to keep the bond from getting too close.”
Jared shook his head. “Does any of this make sense, knowing what we know now?”
Jensen bit on his bottom lip and Misha sighed. “I’m not ready to walk away, but we need answers. There are over 100 EB units in the Great Cities. 200 Psychics that could be having their abilities stripped away without understanding why or even how. How can I help?”
Jensen watched Collins’ Wacey step up behind him, touching his back the way Jared so often did to him. “How can we help?” Collins corrected.
Jensen smiled at him and looked at Jay. “Guess we need a way in. Hopefully without making any big holes.”
**
Getting into the medical facility was easy enough. They weren’t expecting anyone to try to break in and other than regular security the worst they had to deal with were locked doors. They had both been stationed at Cameron for a while during the bonding so while they didn’t know the layout well, they did know the name of the head doctor. They went to his office first and began picking through files.
Misha sat at the computer with his Wacey at his side. She was a technopath and made pretty quick mincemeat of the facility’s security so the doctor’s computer was no trouble. They weren’t sure what they were looking for though so it could take a while. Misha was transferring files to a portable device when they looked like they might want to look closer at them but it was all a crapshoot.
Jared let out a heavy sigh, disrupting the silence that had surrounded them. “Jensen, can you feel the doctor?”
“It is possible he’s in the complex,” Misha assured Jensen before he could respond. “He lives on the base.”
Jensen sighed. “Alright. Let’s see what I can find out.”
Jensen still wasn’t very sophisticated in his touch, but he found the doctor quickly enough. He tried to be subtle with his eavesdropping in the other man’s mind but he was afraid another telepath would be able to see that he’d been there. They just had to get out of there before the man came across another one.
There was a healthy dose of paranoia in the man and Jensen had to push past the man’s ego and emotional superiority before he could really get any information. He let out a small laugh. “He’s afraid of Misha and his Wacey. He isn’t keeping much of his stuff on the computer anymore. You might get some information, but it’s piecemeal.” He let out a deep breath then, trying to settle into the man’s mind. “Most of it will be in the paperwork. He’s… he’s thinking about retiring someone.”
“Killing them?” Jared asked.
“No, I mean retirement. Sending someone away where no one else will find them,” Jensen clarified.
“Looks like we should start there then,” Jared’s fingers pressed into Jensen’s thigh, a reminder that he was there with him. “See why they would send someone away.”
“He’s got three things his thoughts are circling on, over and over again. Retirement, research, and Misha. He’s starting to get worried that something happened to Misha and his Wacey.”
“Alona.” Misha broke in.
“What?”
“I found her file. Her name is Alona.”
Jared smiled at Misha for a moment and Jensen could feel the pride in Jared. It was a long step from seeing a Wacey as something to protect to them being someone to protect. “It’s nice to meet you, Alona,” Jensen said. She turned her head to look at him and Jensen felt it for the first time, curiosity from the Wacey.
He didn’t say anything to Collins but went back to digging. When he got what he could from the doctor they turned back to the files. Dr. Anderson wasn’t thinking about details, just a general concern about things so he’d gone as far as he could there.
They’d been at it for a while before a sharp inhale of breath let them know Jared had found something. “A longitudinal research study they’ve been working on. It’s,” Jared closed his eyes and Jensen could feel the anger and terror that Jared felt. “They’re doing it on purpose. They know that severing the bond destroys the fever-talent. With a second severing, the powers begin to fade after a few years until the people who had them lose them completely.”
“Second severing?” Misha asked.
“The first when the beta is bonded and wakes. They sever the bond between alpha and beta. The second is when the beta becomes an alpha themselves.”
“That’s why it bothered Jim that they didn’t allow regular people to be bonded,” Jensen guessed. “The military knew that they were taking our abilities away from us.”
“The second severing also reverses the healing abilities we have and seems to shorten the lifespan once an alpha no longer has a beta,” Jared said as he kept flipping through the pages of the report.
“Something you might find interesting as well,” Misha called from the computer screen. “They were watching the two of you closely. Your bond with Cassidy wasn’t deep enough and they feared it was over too quickly for the severing to take hold. They feared they’d changed your ability but not actually weakened it. They were going to sever you from Jared and force another bond on you just to make sure you were severed twice.”
“What the hell?” Jensen demanded. He was pissed and he could feel Jared’s anger growing as well.
“Cassidy never established a firm hold on you and she documented everything that was abnormal about it in her reports. They’ve been watching you, hoping you’d do the same but they seem to think you were hiding things from them.”
Jensen shrugged when Misha looked at him. “I never told them about the Wacey’s reactions to me, nor did I tell them about Jay. I didn’t think they’d believe me if I told them how aware of me he was.”
“They’re supposed to be aware of you,” Misha pointed out.
“Your Wacey ever make you coffee because they knew you’d had a crappy morning and needed the extra kick when you finished your own?”
“Really?” Misha voice sounded more astonished than angry and Jensen was grateful for that.
“He did things like that all the time. I didn’t tell anyone, but if they were watching me that close maybe they noticed?”
Misha went back to the file then sighed heavily. There was a sadness in him and Jensen wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “They lied to you,” he said finally. “I’m pulling the rest of our files, but … Jensen they told your family that you died from the fever. They never turned away from you.”
Jensen was too stunned to speak. The room was silent and Misha’s dread continued to creep up on Jensen as the man’s fingers moved over the keyboard. “They lied to all our families. They’re circulating rumors about family members who’ve survive and everyone knows we exist so who questions it? But they are actually lying to everyone about us dying. Jared’s family has been on their wanted list for a long while. They didn’t believe it.”
Jensen’s eyes closed and he had to close himself off to the pain that sprung up in the others.
“Don’t shut me out, Jensen,” Jared begged, a hand gripping Jensen’s chin to make him look up. “Don’t leave me alone.”
Jensen gasped but he couldn’t let go of the tight control he had on his emotional connection. “I can’t,” he tried to explain. “It’s too much, too close.”
Jared understood then because he was pulling Jensen against him and even as he was engulfed in Jared’s arms, he felt the small, feminine hand slip into his palm. The Wacey wasn’t aware of them in the traditional sense of the word, but her hand gripped his tight even as she stared up at the lamp on the wall.
“We’ll find them all Jensen,” Jared promised when Jensen let out a shaky breath. “We’ll find our parents and make this right. We’ll find a way to make this right for everyone.”
**
“You really think they’ll be here soon?” Jensen asked as they waited.
Jared poked at the bond and Jensen let out a deep breath, unaware that he’d started shutting himself off again. “Soon.”
The house was exactly as Jensen had remembered it. There were still pictures of him hanging on the walls, pictures from his younger days where he was playing with his brother and sister. There was picture of Jensen and his dad, fishing and Jensen and his siblings helping their mother cook for some holiday. He hadn’t dared go up to see if he still had a bedroom. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know if they moved past his death or if they still kept a shrine in the form of an untouched bedroom.
“They’ll love you, Jensen.”
“What if they’ve moved past it and I just hurt them. What if they’re upset about who I am?”
Jared knelt in front of him and smiled. “Then they’re fools but you’re pretty smart and I always figured you got that from them. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, alright?”
Jared had a way of making things seem lighter so Jensen tried to relax. They were sitting in the living room, waiting. They figured it was better than a public scene out front. The longer they were gone the more likely someone would be watching his parent’s house for him. There wasn’t much of a chance of him showing up, not after the lies they’d told him but it was always a possibility and he figured the mics must be getting desperate to get Jared back. Jensen had heard the news earlier and it sounded like insurgence was on a high. The man reported that after years of quiet on that front, there were rebellions springing up all around the Great Cities. Considering how many rebellions he and Jared had ended in the last three years, he was surprised to find out that no one had known just how many there were. Great Mid City was getting hit hard with Jared and Jensen gone.
The lock on the front door jiggled and Jensen stood, nearly knocking Jared over as he scrambled back. He would apologize for it later, but there was just an amused fondness crossing the bond at that moment.
The front door was closed and it took a moment before the man and women who entered to realize they weren’t alone. The man put himself in front of the woman. “Get out,” he commanded. “Take whatever you want, but leave us alone.”
“Dad?”
The man gave a visble start at the name, but a second later his eyes opened wide. “Jensen?”
“Jensen!” his mother came rushing forward and he was being engulfed by both his parents.
He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, but it was Jared who broke the scene. “How can I reach Mac and Josh?” he asked.
Jensen’s parents stepped back then, even though his mother kept her hand in his. Jensen knew they were confused and he was nearly overwhelmed by the protective surge of emotions that came from them. He gasped and his knees buckled before he could cut off his emotions from theirs. He should have fell, but there were strong arms around him, holding him up.
“Got you, Jensen,” Jared said softly. Jensen let out a shaky breath. “Just concentrate on me. Come back to me. Walk it back just like you showed me to.”
He felt himself lowered onto a chair and when he finally had his emotions in control he let out another deep breath. “I’m okay,” he whispered when he realized he was so closed up that Jared couldn’t feel anything from him. “Just need to hold onto it for a while.”
Jared nodded and squeezed Jensen’s knee before taking a seat next to Jensen on the couch. His parents were watching them with obvious concern. “Mom, Dad, this is Jared, my beta.”
“Your what?”
They knew what alpha-beta bonds were but he could understand how they’d be confused about it in the context of what they were seeing. Jensen’s head was still slightly spinning with everything he’d felt and it was Jared who took up the story.
“They lied to us,” he said simply. “They lied to all of us and we’re going to try to make it right. Jensen wanted to find you though. They told him you didn’t want to be with him after he got his fever-talent. We just found evidence that they told you he was dead and we had to come find you.”
“Jared?” His mother’s voice was hesitant but she didn’t allow that to stop her. “Do you need help finding your parents?”
Jensen pulled out of himself then, taking Jared’s hand in his. “Jared’s parents disappeared. We tried to find them but they’re just gone. I’m his family, Mama.”
“He helped bring you to us?” his father asked.
“They left me to die and he stayed with me. He took care of me even when he shouldn’t have been able to. The only reason I’m still alive is because of him.”
Tears filled his mother’s eyes and his father hugged her close. He nodded as he looked over her head to the two of them, sitting on the couch. “Then we’re his family too.”
**
It wasn’t as easy as he’d have liked, but Jensen couldn’t help but be proud of the people he found himself surrounded by. The villagers had taken them in again, in their new location, immediately sweeping them back into the fold with Jensen’s family in tow. There were rumors about Jared’s family there, now that they knew to look. When Jensen mentioned Jared’s family he began digging and promised to see what he could find out. That lie was why he’d walked away to begin with. He didn’t know the rest of it and once Jared had spelled it out for him, he’d gone on a three day bended before Samantha had Colin throw him into the lake to sober him up.
The next morning he’d come back determined.
It was his little sister who figured it all out though. She was only eleven and she couldn’t have remembered him from before but she clung to him and cried into his arms when she first saw him. They’d apparently kept his memory alive, not mourning but celebrating who he’d been and the man he might have become. They were sitting around the table after dinner, his mother helping Samantha clean up when Mackenzie had climbed up into Jared’s lap.
“Uncle Jared?”
“Yeah pumpkin?” he asked. She was too old to be sitting on his lap really but Mackenzie seemed to take him in like a lost brother too and she seemed to be able to sense when Jared was feeling left out on the familial affection. Jensen was keeping an eye on her because of it and he’d mentioned it to Jim as well.
“Why don’t we just show people? It would take too long to go knocking on everyone’s door, so just put it on TV. I was reading a book last week where they had a pirate TV station and sent out their own messages. We could just show them our story.”
The room was silent until Jared smiled at her, kissing her forehead. “You are the smartest Ackles I know,” he said as he looked up at Jensen. “It’s simple. Get in, get out; we just need to record the message and see if Misha and Alona can help us.”
Misha and his Wacey had gone to find their families as well but they’d come to the village a few days before. “After what happened with Alona’s family, I think he’ll definitely want to help.”
They were all in shock about that one. Alona’s family had been killed outright when they refused to give Alona over to the Great City. The mics had removed her from the home and staged a robbery the following night. Misha was grief-stricken over it and Jensen couldn’t help but wonder if Alona woudn’t stay in the bond the way Jared had, just to stay where she was safe and cared for.
“Alright,” Jensen said with a sigh. “Mama, Dad, are you up for this?”
The both nodded without hesitation and his brother clasped Jensen’s shoulder. “We’d do it for your, bro, but we’ll do it for the others who can’t yet,” he said, looking over at Alona who stared at the lamps again.
“What’s her thing with lights?” Jensen asked, caught off-guard by the realization.
Misha just shrugged. “I can never get her to do anything in the morning when it’s sunny out. She likes to plan in the sunlight.”
Jared watched her with a fond smile on his face, closing his eyes. “Jay?”
“We all have our things that give us comfort. She has lights and shadows and how they play.”
“You know this how?”
“Aware but unable to respond, not dead, remember? I had plenty of time to watch her when you and the others were in training.”
“What was your thing?” Mackenzie asked innocently.
Jared smiled as he reached forward. “See this right here?” he asked, bringing his finger up to Jensen’s bottom lip. “That dip right there. It changed all the time and every time it changed I was fascinated all over again.”
“Really?” Misha asked. Jensen could hear the teasing in his head already.
“Thanks Jay, I needed another reason for Collins to tease me.”
Misha and Jared laughed but Jensen could feel the speculative looks from the others and he knew they’d finally put the last of the Jared and Jensen puzzle pieces together.
Jared’s eyes danced with mirth but he sobered up a second later. “Alright, so we need to make a video. Who has the equipment that we need?”
**
It was the second time they’d snuck into Cameron and Jensen could help but think this was going to go wrong in all the best - meaning dangerous - ways. They’d had word that the original village had been attacked again and the wall was down. They’d left some people in the village to make it look inhabited but other than setting up a ring of explosions to go off on a timer once the trigger was set, no one stayed to fight.
It might not be a lot but it was one of those charges that had downed Jensen to begin with. Jim might be a doctor but he’d become a hell of a demolitions man in his days since then.
The corridors were quiet as Jensen and Jared waited. Misha and Alona were the ones actually sending the message out and they were left to cover their backs. It felt wrong to be the back-up. He and Jared were usually the main event, in and out with a strike to cripple the enemy before they could launch a real defensive. This wasn’t a military strike though against a rebel. It was Misha’s show to run and Jensen just hoped it went as well as their last visit.
“Jensen, you feel anything?”
Jensen looked across the hall to see Jared watching him. He let out a deep breath. “It’s not like I’m an alarm system Jay,” Jensen said softly
“You’re the best thing we’ve got,” Jared reminded him.
Jensen might not like keeping the bond blown wide open after he’d been practically incapacitated by his family’s emotions but Jared wasn’t lying either. Jensen could feel others emotions and while that didn’t really give him a proximity marker, it did give him a little heads up that someone might be coming.
He opened the bond up and spun immediately, gun trained on the alpha walking down the hallway. She didn’t seem surprised to see him, just that she was under the gun and not the other way around. Jensen took a deep breath because her entire psyche screamed of need. She wanted Jensen back, wanted all of her betas and she was having a hard time with her current orders because of it.
“Cassidy,” Jensen said softly.
“Jensen.”
Her voice was cold and she was doing a damn fine job of shielding her thoughts from him but her emotions were all over the place. Part of him craved what he was feeling and he understood enough now to know that it was the uncompleted bond between them that the others had tried to sever. They weren’t bound anymore, but there were threads of want that tried to twine back together from both sides and Jensen had to fight to keep from letting it happen.
“Back off Cassidy,” Jared called out from behind him. “He might be caught by whatever you’re doing but you so much as twitch and I will make sure severing is the least of your trouble.”
She started at that and it gave Jensen the peace to regain himself again. “Cassidy,” Jensen said, “Katie, you don’t have to do this. I know you don’t want to lose him. New bond and you’re already too close to him, aren’t you?” She didn’t say anything but he could feel it. “You don’t have to be separated. I know it doesn’t seem like what I’m saying can be true, but look at Jay, Katie. Look at 1003. He’s mine and I’m his and you can have that too.”
“No, this is just something you did. It’s just you.”
“You gave me this Katie,” Jensen said soflty. “You cared for me too much and too wildly and my heart refused the bond. It made me free of their confinement. You can be too. You’ve been severed four times already Katie. I’ve seen the research they’ve done. You won’t live much longer. The next one will likely kill you. And they’ll let you do it. They’ll do it because they just want to find a way to destroy us all before we can become too many and too strong to take the world back from them.”
“You’re a liar, Jensen!” She screamed.
He could feel how much she wanted to believe him but she had been indoctrinated too many times. They’d pushed her hard and she’d broken harder. There was no way that she could leave the Great Cities no matter how she might believe Jensen.
“Katie, please. You were my alpha. You’re an empathy. Feel my words. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Jensen felt her tighten her control though, refusing to let him in or to seek him out. “No, they were right. You’re just sick and you don’t know what you’re saying. It’s the Wacey. He woke crazy because you weren’t severed.”
It wasn’t even what they were taught could happen but she was grasping for anything that would explain away what she needed to be untrue. “Katie!”
He tried to push past her barriers anyway, but she raised the gun then, firing at him. Jensen spun away from her, taking cover in the arms of a hallway. “Shit,” he cursed as he looked over and saw Jared on the other side of the hallway. “Anytime now Collins,” Jensen muttered under his breath as he looked out into the hallway and had to duck back quickly. Jared fired a few rounds and Jensen knew he was afraid to use his electricity in the building. He didn’t want to risk hitting something that would mess up Collins’ broadcast. He had no idea how they were getting it out on the air but Alona knew how to do it, he’s said without hesitance. She’d been almost aware when he said it and Jensen knew that the Wacey was close to waking. He just hoped it didn’t happen in the middle of a fire fight.
Bullets continued to graze the walls but they’d managed to keep from getting hit. Jared had a cut on his cheek from debris off a tile that had been hit but he was fine other than that. Jensen tried to reach Misha to get him to hurry it up but he had no idea if the other alpha had gotten his message. Their comms were useless in a military base where any channel they used would be monitored and give them away. It was only time before someone else came at the sound of the gun fire though.
The building shook for a second and Jensen stumbled to get his footing. He saw Jared do the same and he knew then that Misha was done. They just had to get the hallway contained.
A second later and Misha and Alona were back at Jensen’s side. Misha took a look at the situation and began looking for an exit. “Ackles, can your Wacey hit the support beams in the middle of the hall?” Jensen nodded before rounding the hall again and firing. “Do it. That should bring down the ceiling.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Yes, but we’ll be on the other side of the collapse than the mics will be and they’re on their way.”
Jensen looked over at Jared to see if the other man caught it all. “Jensen, I don’t have that kind of control.”
Jensen nodded. “We do.”
Jared seemed to understand what he wanted then. Jensen took a deep breath and opened the bond between Jared until it was a flaring sun in his mind. He didn’t think about what he needed done, just told Jared to do it. Jared wasn’t the one that pulled the power down, he was just the conduit, but in Jensen’s mind that was how it worked. It was why when he tried to do it himself he couldn’t. He needed to make it happen this way in his head. He looked at the ceiling where Misha said to hit and he let loose with a large shot. He felt Jared’s release of the power and they all three struggled to keep their feet as the hallway rumbled around them again. Misha grabbed Jensen’s arm and pulled him out into the open way and Jared was at this side, scrambling to the exit as the roof of the first floor caved in around them.
“Did you get it?” Jensen demanded.
Misha smiled. “Yep. Even better. Alona left a back door for them to shut it off. When they think they shut it off, it will go dormant for twenty four hours and restart again. When it restarts it will begin infecting other communications relays and they will all begin having the same issue. The Ackles message will get out to everyone and they don’t have a hope of stopping it.”
“And the other part?”
“The information you asked for is there too. Anyone can contact you at the number you left. If someone tries to trace it, they’ll eat up their own lines to try to contain it and nullify their own search.”
“Damn, you two know what you’re doing.”
Misha smiled. “It’s what we do. Nice work on the wall by the way.”
Jared leaned forward and grinned. “That’s what we do.”
“Yeah,” Jensen said with a weary sigh. “Now, let’s get home so we can see what sort of BS story gets fabricated about it in the morning.”
**
It wasn’t the same. Jensen watched the gate open and even though the wall looked much the same as it had in the first village, it wasn’t the same. He could feel Jared laughing at him in his head but luckily he was keeping his outward amusement to a simple smile.
The village wasn’t new but it was obvious that a lot of repair had been done recently. The buildings were newly painted and new shingles covered the roofs. The streets were destroyed, nothing left by rock and dirt where concrete and blacktop had once allowed cars to pass, but the rocks were thickly covering the ground and no weeds popped up in the middle of the street.
People were milling around, moving from shop to shop to see to their daily business. They rated a look or two but no one knew them. Their guns were stowed in the packs on their back and there was nothing obvious about who they were. Except for the way Jared walked so close to Jensen, one shoulder constantly brushing his back as they moved.
There was a commotion down the street and before Jensen knew what was happening, someone came flying at Jared. It was a teenage girl, but instinct kicked in before he realized it and he had her in his arms and held away from Jared before he could see the same hazel eyes and pink lips.
Those hazel eyes were regarding him with surprise and well concealed anger. He might not have recognized it if he couldn’t feel it in her.
“Meggie?”
Jared’s hand traveled down Jensen’s arm until he was covering Jensen’s hand on her wrist. It was enough for Jensen to know that Jared wanted him to let go but to stay close.
“Jared?”
Jensen stepped back and then the girl’s arms were around Jared’s neck, pressing kisses all over his face.
“You came back! They said you were coming, but we haven’t seen you in so long.”
A crowd was coming towards them and Jensen saw their friends from the village, along with his own family. There was another group of people he didn’t know, but he didn’t need to feel them out to see the way they watched Jared and the girl in his arms. This was Jared’s family.
Jensen thought about stepping away to let Jared have his time, but he remembered that Jared had only been 10 when he’d gone into the fevers. He’d been in the fever stage a long time, followed by another long coma before he woke up to become Jensen’s beta. This was Jared’s family, but they were practically strangers to him now. Jensen was his family and until Jared got to know them again, he wasn’t going to back away and leave his Wacey to them.
He got a smack to the stomach and looked up at Jared who was glaring at him. “Don’t think of me like that,” he said. It was a fake glare though and Jensen could feel the humor behind it.
“Sorry, years of trying not to call you Jay in my head. Might take a while to break.”
“You’re going to need therapy, aren’t you?”
“It’s possible.” He said it straight faced and Jared started laughing again before he turned back to the people surrounding them. He was quickly engulfed in waiting arms and Jensen just basked in the affection and love he felt radiating from them. Since he’d become an empathy, there hadn’t been much in the way of happy reunions and it was nice to enjoy it. He felt his own parents come up beside him and his Mom pulled him into a hug. His brothers and sister were back in their houses, letting Jared and Jensen get settled in before they bombarded them too. Jensen was grateful for it, and when his mother pulled back to tell him about it he just smiled. “I know, Mom. Thanks.”
It still surprised her that Jensen could read her mind, but he figured in time she would become comfortable with it. His sister had started throwing out random thoughts to him when they’d last met, but to his surprise his father was doing it now. There was a litany of ‘proud of you, son,’ and ‘you did good,’ and then the details of how they’d passed word through the network to find Jared’s family and get them to the village in time for Jared to arrive.
He didn’t have the gratitude in words, so he simply opened himself up and allowed his father to feel it. The man wasn’t an empath but Jensen was able to push his emotions on others and he saw the tears in his father’s eyes before he was pulled into a hug.
“You boys probably need to get settled in and changed. We’ll get some food on the table for you. Unless something has changed drastically, I’m guessing Jared will still eat enough for three.”
Jared grinned at Samantha and pulled her into a hug. “I’m still a growing boy,” he said with a laugh.
Jensen took the opportunity to smack Jared’s stomach. “Grow much more Sasquatch and they’ll have to raise the roofs on the house just to get you in the door.”
“Come on then,” Jared’s mom pulled at his wrist. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up. We have a room set up for you already.”
Jensen felt Jared’s surprise but then Jensen should have known Jared would be too caught up in the others that he didn’t borrow Jensen’s talent. The whole Padalecki family was set to take Jared by force if they had to. They didn’t know their son though and Jensen didn’t doubt the outcome of the conversation. When he looked up at Samantha she smiled and tapped her head. He took a peek into her mind and there was the image of a house down the street and she, the villagers, and Jensen’s family had set it up for them. He sent a mental thank you to her and watched her blush at the thought before waving his thanks away.
He turned his attention back to Jared who was staring at his mother still. “Jared, we’re just down the street.” Jensen felt Jared’s pull on the bond and he knew Jared was tapping into his powers now.
“Mom, I love you and I’m so glad we found you safe, but I didn’t come here to leave Jensen.”
“Jared, we don’t need to decide that now. We just want you to come get cleaned up.”
Jared sighed. “Mom, I’m bonded to Jensen and that’s not changing.”
“It was forced on you. You didn’t have a choice.”
“It was forced on him too. Twice. We didn’t have a choice when it happened, but we had a choice to go back and get the bond severed. We chose not to.”
Jensen took a step forward until he was at Jared’s back. He wasn’t claiming Jared in any way, just showing his support. He didn’t think Jared believed the thought any more than Jensen did, but he wasn’t going to admit how badly his protective instinct wanted to just throw Jared over his shoulder and walk him down to their home.
“Our home?” Jared turned to look at him.
“Oh hell, get out of my head Jay, I’m trying to be nice.”
“Since when?”
“Shut up,” Jensen groused but Jared was smiling, dimples and all, and Jared’s father seemed to understand.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t come clean up with us though, does it?” his father asked. “We’d just like to get a chance to see you again son. Jensen can come too.”
Jared’s mom didn’t look pleased at the invitation but Jensen stopped any such thoughts. “Why don’t Jared and I get our bags stowed in our home and clean up. We’ll meet you at Samantha’s for dinner and you can have Jared after? I wouldn’t mind a chance to see my own family,” he admitted with a wink for his mother.
“Perfect,” Jared said, pulled Jensen past the rest of the crowd before anyone else could object.
They were half way down the street when Jared looked at Jensen. “You do know where we’re going, don’t you?”
Jensen laughed as he wrapped an arm over Jared’s shoulder. “Does it really matter?”
Jared stopped him in the middle of the street and kissed him softly. “No it really doesn’t. It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we have each other.”
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom/Genre: RPS, future, post-apocalyptic setting
Pairing(s): Jared/Jensen
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 26,000+
Warning: underage (Jensen is 17, Jared is 15 though it's not specifically mentioned)
Summary: Jensen Ackles barely remembered what life was like without Wacey 1003 at his side. It had been three years since the two had been bonded to control the Wacey's psychic ability and there was still no sign of him actually waking from the walking coma he was in. Jensen just had to take care of him the best he could.
Things start to fall apart though as Jensen learns that the military he has worked for since he'd been a Wacey himself has suspicious plans for him. When all hell breaks loose and a mission goes wrong, will Jensen be able to get his Wacey back to base safely? Or will their path taken them on a far different journey?
It felt odd waking in the village, but Jensen was learning to get used to it. Jared was at his side when he woke each morning, his ridiculously happy smile greeting Jensen. Jensen wasn’t a morning person unless he had a drill sergeant on his ass but he couldn’t help but smile at Jared in the mornings, pull him close, and take his mouth in gentle kisses that became more passionate as they continued.
Each morning, Jensen pulled away from it before it got too far. Jared understood, though he complained a lot about Jensen being the death of him.
Today, breakfast was cinnamon rolls with icing that Jared kept licking off his fingers which just reminded Jensen of the times he’d get Jared candy when he was still in the walking coma. He watched with an indulgent smile until Jared looked up. He seemed to follow Jensen’s thoughts again and smiled back. “You weren’t supposed to give me candy, you know.”
“I know. Bad alpha.”
“They’re here,” Jim came walking into the room where Samantha was cleaning up one of the tables. “Colin and Brock.”
Samantha nodded, swiping the table with her rag one last time before she threw it on the bar in the back. “Come on boys, time you met someone.”
There was a small crowd gathered outside of Samantha’s place and Jensen felt the pull of a familiar power. He shoved Jared backwards, coming to stand between him and the two boys. The crowd moved around when the older boy followed Jensen’s move precisely.
Jensen could feel Jared’s concern but there was no hiding the flash of amusement his beta felt.
“Jensen, Brock, both of you calm down!” Jim yelled out.
“I’ll back mine off if you promise to back yours off,” Jared called over Jensen’s shoulder to the young boy that was trying to see past the other alpha.
“Name’s Colin,” the kid answered Jared.
“Jared. Now, Jensen, can you let me pass so I can go shake the kid’s hand?”
Jensen let out a deep breath as Jared’s hand reached the nape of his neck, taking in the comfort and confidence that was Jared. He didn’t know how Jared did it. Jensen had been confused and disoriented when he’d first woke from the walking coma. That Jared was able to move on was amazing. Jared said it was just because he’d kept his memories but Jensen wasn’t so sure about that.
Jensen let Jared go past him but Jared was smart enough to make the kid come out to him and not get too close to the other alpha. The two betas shook hands and looked between Jensen and Brock.
Jensen finally gave. “I’m not here to fight.”
“Not anymore,” Jim supplied. Instead of making him pissed though, it made Jensen smile. Brock seemed to loosen up at that.
“Sorry. He just woke up two months ago,” Brock said as if that made all the sense in the world. Jensen could see that to the others it really didn’t, but Jensen understood.
“A few days after the wall came down,” Jensen said with a nod to Jared.
“No shit?”
Jensen smiled and walked closer, offering the alpha his hand. “Jensen Ackles.”
“Brock Kelly. Saw your handiwork when you hit the wall. You’ve got a real fine touch. Nothing Colin and I can’t fix, but you would have had the whole thing down if your beta hadn’t flipped out. What happened anyway?”
Jensen could feel the curiosity on the other man and he let all the fear and concern roll out of him. “I got hit by some fragments when you guys let off the first round of explosives. The captain in charge tried to take my beta and leave me behind.”
Brock cringed. “Mics are not the sharpest.”
Jensen snorted. “Yeah. Jared opened up on the entire area to keep everyone from firing at us.”
“You should be proud of him,” Brock said and it might have been condescending from anyone else, but from an alpha outside of the military ranks it seemed like a badge of honor.
Jensen nodded. “Damn proud, just don’t tell him.”
Jared was listening in on the whole thing though and Jared just smiled at Colin. “We’ll wait until they’re gone to start swapping stories.”
Colin agreed. “It’ll make them worry more about what we’re saying.”
The two betas gave them a mischievous grin in stereo and Jensen sighed. It was like Jared had a mini-me now. “Awesome.”
“You boys going to get some work done or just sit around to see how pretty your betas are in the shiny, fluffy day?” Jim asked gruffly.
It set them both laughing and then Brock and Colin headed down towards the wall. Jared and Jensen followed, as did half the villagers still in town. Most had already been sent off to other villages in their network but they had a group living there until the enemy was upon them again. This time, they wouldn’t bother fighting. They were going to let them leave an empty shell of a village in their wake.
Jared came to stand just behind Jensen with his head resting on his shoulder. Brock and Colin stood in front of the wreck that was the wall. Large chunks were lying on the ground on either side of the field and it looked like too massive a job for the two men. Brock stood behind his beta though and put his hands on his shoulders, as if to ground them.
Jensen felt his own bonds to Jared opening up as he watched the other two. Jared’s awareness flowed into his mind, as well as his awe of the two young men.
“Never went to the Great Cities,” Samantha said as she and Jim joined them. “Home raised and home grown. There are other ways.”
As Jensen watched the great stone hunks being lifted off the ground with Colin’s telekinesis, he finally started to believe.
**
They’d been alone for three days before Jensen started getting antsy. The wall was repaired and Jensen couldn’t help but be impressed with the way Brock and Colin had worked together to get it done. The men and woman of the village didn’t look away from it either. They fully accepted the alpha and beta into the community and they were genuinely cared for. It was a nice sentiment and if they could have just run, Jensen would have gone with them. It wasn’t that easy for them though. Colin and Brock had been kept from the Unified Cities. No one was looking for them. Not only had Jared not come home though, he’d attacked their soldiers. They would be back for Jared.
Jensen just had no idea what form it would take.
He had run so many scenarios in his head that he was completely taken aback when it did happen. Two figures walked up to the gate and waited patiently outside for it to be opened.
Jensen released the lever and watched as Collins and his Wacey stepped into town. He closed the gate behind them and walked down the stairs to stand in front of the EB unit.
“Ackles? We heard you were hurt. Are you in need of medical assistance?”
“No, I’m fine. I was injured in the fight but I’ve healed. You aren’t here to check my health though.”
Collins looked at him, then looked around the deserted village. “What did you do?”
Jensen looked at him for a second, then understood where Collins’ mind had taken him. “I didn’t punish my Wacey for the attack. Pileggi ordered the men to leave me behind and take him. Pileggi screwed up the order, not Jay.”
“Jay? 1003?”
Jensen nodded. “He’s fine but Pileggi should have known that a Wacey will always protect himself or his alpha when backed into a corner. If they’d just trained him to understand this would have all turned out a lot different.”
“Where is he Ackles?”
“Around.”
“You aren’t worried about him?”
Jensen knew Collins was confused but Jensen was trying to get a read on his friend. Reading thoughts had taken some time to get used to, but it was different with an alpha. They were trained to keep another person from digging too deep into their head. He had him now though.
“He woke. I was hurt and he took care of me. Woke up by himself. Didn’t have to sever us or anything.”
Collins flinched back from the words the way any decent alpha would, but Jensen knew Collins had been aware of the issue.
“Is it… is it as bad as they said?” He asked.
Jensen let out a deep breath and shook his head. “It’s all bullshit. He’s not taking over my head or pushing into my space any more than he did when he was asleep. In fact, I think I’ll keep him.”
“You can’t.”
“I can. And no one is going to stop us. I don’t want trouble. I just want to be left alone so Jared and I can figure things out.”
Collins was confused, unsettled and Jensen knew it was time. He pushed on the bond to get Jared moving. A second later Jared walked out of the house closest to the wall and came straight for them. “Good to officially met you, Collins,” Jared said with a smile. “I’m Jared.”
He offered his hand and Collins took it after a few minutes hesitation. Jared looked at the Wacey then and Jensen felt his apprehension.
“Yeah, it’s unsettling, isn’t it?”
Jared nodded and Jensen knew it would take a little while to get used to the fact that he’d been just like her. “Hotter though,” Jensen said just to make Collins’ mouth drop and Jared’s face turn beet red.
Jared sputtered for a second while Jensen laughed.
“You’re an empath now then, right?” Collins asked awkwardly. “Are you able to get anything from me?”
“You’re a little worried that Jensen is off his rocker, which he probably is. He’s been taking care of me for three years so that would do it. You’re worried about your Wacey, but she isn’t worried. She knows you’ll protect her.”
“He’s strong,” Collins whispered, looking over at Jensen. Newly severed betas could rarely get past an alpha’s protective shielding.
“No, Jensen is,” Jared said. He looked down at his hands and they sizzled and popped with electricity. “I’m still an electropath.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” Jensen cut in, “but Jared has all his memories, Collins. No blurred remembrance or changed powers. He’s as strong as they day we bonded and then some. Plus he’s picking up on my abilities.”
“And you’ve always had mine,” Jared added.
Jensen scowled at him but Jared seemed to like causing Jensen to sweat like that. He still didn’t understand how he’d taken Jared’s power before. He hadn’t been able to do it since Jared told him he had and they’d tried a few times.
“This is nothing like we expected,” Collins said softly. “We were expecting you to be severely injured and 1003 to be wild.”
“We’re not, but Collins, we aren’t going back. They planned to sever us the day after our last mission. We overheard one of the doctors talking to Pileggi about it. I would have fought tooth and nail to keep my Wacey until he woke. Now that he’s awake? There is nothing this side of hell that is going to take him from me.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“We do,” Jared said, stepping up so that his shoulder brushed Jensen’s back.
“Jared’s power didn’t change. He has his memories. I think it’s because he hasn’t been severed. We’ve seen another alpha-beta bond and it was nothing like ours. We don’t have to lose our betas just because the government wants us to.”
“If all this is true, then why would the government do this to us?” Collins asked.
Jensen didn’t have an answer for that. He felt Jared’s curiosity though and he looked over his shoulder at his beta.
“I think we need to find out. We deserved to know the truth. Three years of our lives have been taken from us. We’ve killed and been injured and we don’t even know why anymore. Jensen, we need to know. And we need to let the others know there is another way.”
Collins was looking at his Wacey and she walked forward, touching Jensen’s cheek again. Jared didn’t try to stop her, but dropped his chin over Jensen’s shoulder to watch and - to Jensen’s great amusement - partially to stake his claim on his alpha.
“Guess those instincts go both ways,” Jensen said softly as he looked at Jared.
Jared rolled his eyes but the corners of his lips were turned up again. “Shush. I attacked a truck full of soldiers to protect you. You’ve got some catching up to do.”
It was Jensen’s turn to roll his eyes. “Three years. Three years and you think one incident proves you care?”
Collins watched their banter in surprise but the Wacey dropped her hand and turned back to Collins, touching him the same way. He pulled back slightly but she followed him and he allowed the touch. “I … she isn’t tactile.”
“Maybe she is and she was afraid to try it?” Jared suggested.
“Were you ever concerned with your alpha?” Collins asked. He didn’t seem to be paying them any attention but Jared answered anyway.
“Yes, but I pushed often until I knew how far I could get away with things. We aren’t mindless when we’re Waceys. We’re just not really capable of focusing on things or vocalizing explanations for things.”
Jensen figured it was as close to remembering the bond as he was ever going to get and he was happy enough with that. If he could only remember one bond clearly, he was happy with this one.
“What will you do, Collins?”
The alpha looked at them and sighed. “I think … I need to know the truth. 1023 deserves the truth as well.”
“She has a name, Misha,” Jared demanded.
“I … I don’t know it.”
“How can you not know?” Jared asked.
“We aren’t given your files,” Jensen explained. “I got your out of curiosity after we bonded. Remember the Doc got on me for calling you Sasquatch?” Jared nodded. “Yeah, we’re not supposed to call you anything other than Wacey, beta, or your identification number. It’s to keep the bond from getting too close.”
Jared shook his head. “Does any of this make sense, knowing what we know now?”
Jensen bit on his bottom lip and Misha sighed. “I’m not ready to walk away, but we need answers. There are over 100 EB units in the Great Cities. 200 Psychics that could be having their abilities stripped away without understanding why or even how. How can I help?”
Jensen watched Collins’ Wacey step up behind him, touching his back the way Jared so often did to him. “How can we help?” Collins corrected.
Jensen smiled at him and looked at Jay. “Guess we need a way in. Hopefully without making any big holes.”
**
Getting into the medical facility was easy enough. They weren’t expecting anyone to try to break in and other than regular security the worst they had to deal with were locked doors. They had both been stationed at Cameron for a while during the bonding so while they didn’t know the layout well, they did know the name of the head doctor. They went to his office first and began picking through files.
Misha sat at the computer with his Wacey at his side. She was a technopath and made pretty quick mincemeat of the facility’s security so the doctor’s computer was no trouble. They weren’t sure what they were looking for though so it could take a while. Misha was transferring files to a portable device when they looked like they might want to look closer at them but it was all a crapshoot.
Jared let out a heavy sigh, disrupting the silence that had surrounded them. “Jensen, can you feel the doctor?”
“It is possible he’s in the complex,” Misha assured Jensen before he could respond. “He lives on the base.”
Jensen sighed. “Alright. Let’s see what I can find out.”
Jensen still wasn’t very sophisticated in his touch, but he found the doctor quickly enough. He tried to be subtle with his eavesdropping in the other man’s mind but he was afraid another telepath would be able to see that he’d been there. They just had to get out of there before the man came across another one.
There was a healthy dose of paranoia in the man and Jensen had to push past the man’s ego and emotional superiority before he could really get any information. He let out a small laugh. “He’s afraid of Misha and his Wacey. He isn’t keeping much of his stuff on the computer anymore. You might get some information, but it’s piecemeal.” He let out a deep breath then, trying to settle into the man’s mind. “Most of it will be in the paperwork. He’s… he’s thinking about retiring someone.”
“Killing them?” Jared asked.
“No, I mean retirement. Sending someone away where no one else will find them,” Jensen clarified.
“Looks like we should start there then,” Jared’s fingers pressed into Jensen’s thigh, a reminder that he was there with him. “See why they would send someone away.”
“He’s got three things his thoughts are circling on, over and over again. Retirement, research, and Misha. He’s starting to get worried that something happened to Misha and his Wacey.”
“Alona.” Misha broke in.
“What?”
“I found her file. Her name is Alona.”
Jared smiled at Misha for a moment and Jensen could feel the pride in Jared. It was a long step from seeing a Wacey as something to protect to them being someone to protect. “It’s nice to meet you, Alona,” Jensen said. She turned her head to look at him and Jensen felt it for the first time, curiosity from the Wacey.
He didn’t say anything to Collins but went back to digging. When he got what he could from the doctor they turned back to the files. Dr. Anderson wasn’t thinking about details, just a general concern about things so he’d gone as far as he could there.
They’d been at it for a while before a sharp inhale of breath let them know Jared had found something. “A longitudinal research study they’ve been working on. It’s,” Jared closed his eyes and Jensen could feel the anger and terror that Jared felt. “They’re doing it on purpose. They know that severing the bond destroys the fever-talent. With a second severing, the powers begin to fade after a few years until the people who had them lose them completely.”
“Second severing?” Misha asked.
“The first when the beta is bonded and wakes. They sever the bond between alpha and beta. The second is when the beta becomes an alpha themselves.”
“That’s why it bothered Jim that they didn’t allow regular people to be bonded,” Jensen guessed. “The military knew that they were taking our abilities away from us.”
“The second severing also reverses the healing abilities we have and seems to shorten the lifespan once an alpha no longer has a beta,” Jared said as he kept flipping through the pages of the report.
“Something you might find interesting as well,” Misha called from the computer screen. “They were watching the two of you closely. Your bond with Cassidy wasn’t deep enough and they feared it was over too quickly for the severing to take hold. They feared they’d changed your ability but not actually weakened it. They were going to sever you from Jared and force another bond on you just to make sure you were severed twice.”
“What the hell?” Jensen demanded. He was pissed and he could feel Jared’s anger growing as well.
“Cassidy never established a firm hold on you and she documented everything that was abnormal about it in her reports. They’ve been watching you, hoping you’d do the same but they seem to think you were hiding things from them.”
Jensen shrugged when Misha looked at him. “I never told them about the Wacey’s reactions to me, nor did I tell them about Jay. I didn’t think they’d believe me if I told them how aware of me he was.”
“They’re supposed to be aware of you,” Misha pointed out.
“Your Wacey ever make you coffee because they knew you’d had a crappy morning and needed the extra kick when you finished your own?”
“Really?” Misha voice sounded more astonished than angry and Jensen was grateful for that.
“He did things like that all the time. I didn’t tell anyone, but if they were watching me that close maybe they noticed?”
Misha went back to the file then sighed heavily. There was a sadness in him and Jensen wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “They lied to you,” he said finally. “I’m pulling the rest of our files, but … Jensen they told your family that you died from the fever. They never turned away from you.”
Jensen was too stunned to speak. The room was silent and Misha’s dread continued to creep up on Jensen as the man’s fingers moved over the keyboard. “They lied to all our families. They’re circulating rumors about family members who’ve survive and everyone knows we exist so who questions it? But they are actually lying to everyone about us dying. Jared’s family has been on their wanted list for a long while. They didn’t believe it.”
Jensen’s eyes closed and he had to close himself off to the pain that sprung up in the others.
“Don’t shut me out, Jensen,” Jared begged, a hand gripping Jensen’s chin to make him look up. “Don’t leave me alone.”
Jensen gasped but he couldn’t let go of the tight control he had on his emotional connection. “I can’t,” he tried to explain. “It’s too much, too close.”
Jared understood then because he was pulling Jensen against him and even as he was engulfed in Jared’s arms, he felt the small, feminine hand slip into his palm. The Wacey wasn’t aware of them in the traditional sense of the word, but her hand gripped his tight even as she stared up at the lamp on the wall.
“We’ll find them all Jensen,” Jared promised when Jensen let out a shaky breath. “We’ll find our parents and make this right. We’ll find a way to make this right for everyone.”
**
“You really think they’ll be here soon?” Jensen asked as they waited.
Jared poked at the bond and Jensen let out a deep breath, unaware that he’d started shutting himself off again. “Soon.”
The house was exactly as Jensen had remembered it. There were still pictures of him hanging on the walls, pictures from his younger days where he was playing with his brother and sister. There was picture of Jensen and his dad, fishing and Jensen and his siblings helping their mother cook for some holiday. He hadn’t dared go up to see if he still had a bedroom. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know if they moved past his death or if they still kept a shrine in the form of an untouched bedroom.
“They’ll love you, Jensen.”
“What if they’ve moved past it and I just hurt them. What if they’re upset about who I am?”
Jared knelt in front of him and smiled. “Then they’re fools but you’re pretty smart and I always figured you got that from them. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, alright?”
Jared had a way of making things seem lighter so Jensen tried to relax. They were sitting in the living room, waiting. They figured it was better than a public scene out front. The longer they were gone the more likely someone would be watching his parent’s house for him. There wasn’t much of a chance of him showing up, not after the lies they’d told him but it was always a possibility and he figured the mics must be getting desperate to get Jared back. Jensen had heard the news earlier and it sounded like insurgence was on a high. The man reported that after years of quiet on that front, there were rebellions springing up all around the Great Cities. Considering how many rebellions he and Jared had ended in the last three years, he was surprised to find out that no one had known just how many there were. Great Mid City was getting hit hard with Jared and Jensen gone.
The lock on the front door jiggled and Jensen stood, nearly knocking Jared over as he scrambled back. He would apologize for it later, but there was just an amused fondness crossing the bond at that moment.
The front door was closed and it took a moment before the man and women who entered to realize they weren’t alone. The man put himself in front of the woman. “Get out,” he commanded. “Take whatever you want, but leave us alone.”
“Dad?”
The man gave a visble start at the name, but a second later his eyes opened wide. “Jensen?”
“Jensen!” his mother came rushing forward and he was being engulfed by both his parents.
He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, but it was Jared who broke the scene. “How can I reach Mac and Josh?” he asked.
Jensen’s parents stepped back then, even though his mother kept her hand in his. Jensen knew they were confused and he was nearly overwhelmed by the protective surge of emotions that came from them. He gasped and his knees buckled before he could cut off his emotions from theirs. He should have fell, but there were strong arms around him, holding him up.
“Got you, Jensen,” Jared said softly. Jensen let out a shaky breath. “Just concentrate on me. Come back to me. Walk it back just like you showed me to.”
He felt himself lowered onto a chair and when he finally had his emotions in control he let out another deep breath. “I’m okay,” he whispered when he realized he was so closed up that Jared couldn’t feel anything from him. “Just need to hold onto it for a while.”
Jared nodded and squeezed Jensen’s knee before taking a seat next to Jensen on the couch. His parents were watching them with obvious concern. “Mom, Dad, this is Jared, my beta.”
“Your what?”
They knew what alpha-beta bonds were but he could understand how they’d be confused about it in the context of what they were seeing. Jensen’s head was still slightly spinning with everything he’d felt and it was Jared who took up the story.
“They lied to us,” he said simply. “They lied to all of us and we’re going to try to make it right. Jensen wanted to find you though. They told him you didn’t want to be with him after he got his fever-talent. We just found evidence that they told you he was dead and we had to come find you.”
“Jared?” His mother’s voice was hesitant but she didn’t allow that to stop her. “Do you need help finding your parents?”
Jensen pulled out of himself then, taking Jared’s hand in his. “Jared’s parents disappeared. We tried to find them but they’re just gone. I’m his family, Mama.”
“He helped bring you to us?” his father asked.
“They left me to die and he stayed with me. He took care of me even when he shouldn’t have been able to. The only reason I’m still alive is because of him.”
Tears filled his mother’s eyes and his father hugged her close. He nodded as he looked over her head to the two of them, sitting on the couch. “Then we’re his family too.”
**
It wasn’t as easy as he’d have liked, but Jensen couldn’t help but be proud of the people he found himself surrounded by. The villagers had taken them in again, in their new location, immediately sweeping them back into the fold with Jensen’s family in tow. There were rumors about Jared’s family there, now that they knew to look. When Jensen mentioned Jared’s family he began digging and promised to see what he could find out. That lie was why he’d walked away to begin with. He didn’t know the rest of it and once Jared had spelled it out for him, he’d gone on a three day bended before Samantha had Colin throw him into the lake to sober him up.
The next morning he’d come back determined.
It was his little sister who figured it all out though. She was only eleven and she couldn’t have remembered him from before but she clung to him and cried into his arms when she first saw him. They’d apparently kept his memory alive, not mourning but celebrating who he’d been and the man he might have become. They were sitting around the table after dinner, his mother helping Samantha clean up when Mackenzie had climbed up into Jared’s lap.
“Uncle Jared?”
“Yeah pumpkin?” he asked. She was too old to be sitting on his lap really but Mackenzie seemed to take him in like a lost brother too and she seemed to be able to sense when Jared was feeling left out on the familial affection. Jensen was keeping an eye on her because of it and he’d mentioned it to Jim as well.
“Why don’t we just show people? It would take too long to go knocking on everyone’s door, so just put it on TV. I was reading a book last week where they had a pirate TV station and sent out their own messages. We could just show them our story.”
The room was silent until Jared smiled at her, kissing her forehead. “You are the smartest Ackles I know,” he said as he looked up at Jensen. “It’s simple. Get in, get out; we just need to record the message and see if Misha and Alona can help us.”
Misha and his Wacey had gone to find their families as well but they’d come to the village a few days before. “After what happened with Alona’s family, I think he’ll definitely want to help.”
They were all in shock about that one. Alona’s family had been killed outright when they refused to give Alona over to the Great City. The mics had removed her from the home and staged a robbery the following night. Misha was grief-stricken over it and Jensen couldn’t help but wonder if Alona woudn’t stay in the bond the way Jared had, just to stay where she was safe and cared for.
“Alright,” Jensen said with a sigh. “Mama, Dad, are you up for this?”
The both nodded without hesitation and his brother clasped Jensen’s shoulder. “We’d do it for your, bro, but we’ll do it for the others who can’t yet,” he said, looking over at Alona who stared at the lamps again.
“What’s her thing with lights?” Jensen asked, caught off-guard by the realization.
Misha just shrugged. “I can never get her to do anything in the morning when it’s sunny out. She likes to plan in the sunlight.”
Jared watched her with a fond smile on his face, closing his eyes. “Jay?”
“We all have our things that give us comfort. She has lights and shadows and how they play.”
“You know this how?”
“Aware but unable to respond, not dead, remember? I had plenty of time to watch her when you and the others were in training.”
“What was your thing?” Mackenzie asked innocently.
Jared smiled as he reached forward. “See this right here?” he asked, bringing his finger up to Jensen’s bottom lip. “That dip right there. It changed all the time and every time it changed I was fascinated all over again.”
“Really?” Misha asked. Jensen could hear the teasing in his head already.
“Thanks Jay, I needed another reason for Collins to tease me.”
Misha and Jared laughed but Jensen could feel the speculative looks from the others and he knew they’d finally put the last of the Jared and Jensen puzzle pieces together.
Jared’s eyes danced with mirth but he sobered up a second later. “Alright, so we need to make a video. Who has the equipment that we need?”
**
It was the second time they’d snuck into Cameron and Jensen could help but think this was going to go wrong in all the best - meaning dangerous - ways. They’d had word that the original village had been attacked again and the wall was down. They’d left some people in the village to make it look inhabited but other than setting up a ring of explosions to go off on a timer once the trigger was set, no one stayed to fight.
It might not be a lot but it was one of those charges that had downed Jensen to begin with. Jim might be a doctor but he’d become a hell of a demolitions man in his days since then.
The corridors were quiet as Jensen and Jared waited. Misha and Alona were the ones actually sending the message out and they were left to cover their backs. It felt wrong to be the back-up. He and Jared were usually the main event, in and out with a strike to cripple the enemy before they could launch a real defensive. This wasn’t a military strike though against a rebel. It was Misha’s show to run and Jensen just hoped it went as well as their last visit.
“Jensen, you feel anything?”
Jensen looked across the hall to see Jared watching him. He let out a deep breath. “It’s not like I’m an alarm system Jay,” Jensen said softly
“You’re the best thing we’ve got,” Jared reminded him.
Jensen might not like keeping the bond blown wide open after he’d been practically incapacitated by his family’s emotions but Jared wasn’t lying either. Jensen could feel others emotions and while that didn’t really give him a proximity marker, it did give him a little heads up that someone might be coming.
He opened the bond up and spun immediately, gun trained on the alpha walking down the hallway. She didn’t seem surprised to see him, just that she was under the gun and not the other way around. Jensen took a deep breath because her entire psyche screamed of need. She wanted Jensen back, wanted all of her betas and she was having a hard time with her current orders because of it.
“Cassidy,” Jensen said softly.
“Jensen.”
Her voice was cold and she was doing a damn fine job of shielding her thoughts from him but her emotions were all over the place. Part of him craved what he was feeling and he understood enough now to know that it was the uncompleted bond between them that the others had tried to sever. They weren’t bound anymore, but there were threads of want that tried to twine back together from both sides and Jensen had to fight to keep from letting it happen.
“Back off Cassidy,” Jared called out from behind him. “He might be caught by whatever you’re doing but you so much as twitch and I will make sure severing is the least of your trouble.”
She started at that and it gave Jensen the peace to regain himself again. “Cassidy,” Jensen said, “Katie, you don’t have to do this. I know you don’t want to lose him. New bond and you’re already too close to him, aren’t you?” She didn’t say anything but he could feel it. “You don’t have to be separated. I know it doesn’t seem like what I’m saying can be true, but look at Jay, Katie. Look at 1003. He’s mine and I’m his and you can have that too.”
“No, this is just something you did. It’s just you.”
“You gave me this Katie,” Jensen said soflty. “You cared for me too much and too wildly and my heart refused the bond. It made me free of their confinement. You can be too. You’ve been severed four times already Katie. I’ve seen the research they’ve done. You won’t live much longer. The next one will likely kill you. And they’ll let you do it. They’ll do it because they just want to find a way to destroy us all before we can become too many and too strong to take the world back from them.”
“You’re a liar, Jensen!” She screamed.
He could feel how much she wanted to believe him but she had been indoctrinated too many times. They’d pushed her hard and she’d broken harder. There was no way that she could leave the Great Cities no matter how she might believe Jensen.
“Katie, please. You were my alpha. You’re an empathy. Feel my words. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Jensen felt her tighten her control though, refusing to let him in or to seek him out. “No, they were right. You’re just sick and you don’t know what you’re saying. It’s the Wacey. He woke crazy because you weren’t severed.”
It wasn’t even what they were taught could happen but she was grasping for anything that would explain away what she needed to be untrue. “Katie!”
He tried to push past her barriers anyway, but she raised the gun then, firing at him. Jensen spun away from her, taking cover in the arms of a hallway. “Shit,” he cursed as he looked over and saw Jared on the other side of the hallway. “Anytime now Collins,” Jensen muttered under his breath as he looked out into the hallway and had to duck back quickly. Jared fired a few rounds and Jensen knew he was afraid to use his electricity in the building. He didn’t want to risk hitting something that would mess up Collins’ broadcast. He had no idea how they were getting it out on the air but Alona knew how to do it, he’s said without hesitance. She’d been almost aware when he said it and Jensen knew that the Wacey was close to waking. He just hoped it didn’t happen in the middle of a fire fight.
Bullets continued to graze the walls but they’d managed to keep from getting hit. Jared had a cut on his cheek from debris off a tile that had been hit but he was fine other than that. Jensen tried to reach Misha to get him to hurry it up but he had no idea if the other alpha had gotten his message. Their comms were useless in a military base where any channel they used would be monitored and give them away. It was only time before someone else came at the sound of the gun fire though.
The building shook for a second and Jensen stumbled to get his footing. He saw Jared do the same and he knew then that Misha was done. They just had to get the hallway contained.
A second later and Misha and Alona were back at Jensen’s side. Misha took a look at the situation and began looking for an exit. “Ackles, can your Wacey hit the support beams in the middle of the hall?” Jensen nodded before rounding the hall again and firing. “Do it. That should bring down the ceiling.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Yes, but we’ll be on the other side of the collapse than the mics will be and they’re on their way.”
Jensen looked over at Jared to see if the other man caught it all. “Jensen, I don’t have that kind of control.”
Jensen nodded. “We do.”
Jared seemed to understand what he wanted then. Jensen took a deep breath and opened the bond between Jared until it was a flaring sun in his mind. He didn’t think about what he needed done, just told Jared to do it. Jared wasn’t the one that pulled the power down, he was just the conduit, but in Jensen’s mind that was how it worked. It was why when he tried to do it himself he couldn’t. He needed to make it happen this way in his head. He looked at the ceiling where Misha said to hit and he let loose with a large shot. He felt Jared’s release of the power and they all three struggled to keep their feet as the hallway rumbled around them again. Misha grabbed Jensen’s arm and pulled him out into the open way and Jared was at this side, scrambling to the exit as the roof of the first floor caved in around them.
“Did you get it?” Jensen demanded.
Misha smiled. “Yep. Even better. Alona left a back door for them to shut it off. When they think they shut it off, it will go dormant for twenty four hours and restart again. When it restarts it will begin infecting other communications relays and they will all begin having the same issue. The Ackles message will get out to everyone and they don’t have a hope of stopping it.”
“And the other part?”
“The information you asked for is there too. Anyone can contact you at the number you left. If someone tries to trace it, they’ll eat up their own lines to try to contain it and nullify their own search.”
“Damn, you two know what you’re doing.”
Misha smiled. “It’s what we do. Nice work on the wall by the way.”
Jared leaned forward and grinned. “That’s what we do.”
“Yeah,” Jensen said with a weary sigh. “Now, let’s get home so we can see what sort of BS story gets fabricated about it in the morning.”
**
It wasn’t the same. Jensen watched the gate open and even though the wall looked much the same as it had in the first village, it wasn’t the same. He could feel Jared laughing at him in his head but luckily he was keeping his outward amusement to a simple smile.
The village wasn’t new but it was obvious that a lot of repair had been done recently. The buildings were newly painted and new shingles covered the roofs. The streets were destroyed, nothing left by rock and dirt where concrete and blacktop had once allowed cars to pass, but the rocks were thickly covering the ground and no weeds popped up in the middle of the street.
People were milling around, moving from shop to shop to see to their daily business. They rated a look or two but no one knew them. Their guns were stowed in the packs on their back and there was nothing obvious about who they were. Except for the way Jared walked so close to Jensen, one shoulder constantly brushing his back as they moved.
There was a commotion down the street and before Jensen knew what was happening, someone came flying at Jared. It was a teenage girl, but instinct kicked in before he realized it and he had her in his arms and held away from Jared before he could see the same hazel eyes and pink lips.
Those hazel eyes were regarding him with surprise and well concealed anger. He might not have recognized it if he couldn’t feel it in her.
“Meggie?”
Jared’s hand traveled down Jensen’s arm until he was covering Jensen’s hand on her wrist. It was enough for Jensen to know that Jared wanted him to let go but to stay close.
“Jared?”
Jensen stepped back and then the girl’s arms were around Jared’s neck, pressing kisses all over his face.
“You came back! They said you were coming, but we haven’t seen you in so long.”
A crowd was coming towards them and Jensen saw their friends from the village, along with his own family. There was another group of people he didn’t know, but he didn’t need to feel them out to see the way they watched Jared and the girl in his arms. This was Jared’s family.
Jensen thought about stepping away to let Jared have his time, but he remembered that Jared had only been 10 when he’d gone into the fevers. He’d been in the fever stage a long time, followed by another long coma before he woke up to become Jensen’s beta. This was Jared’s family, but they were practically strangers to him now. Jensen was his family and until Jared got to know them again, he wasn’t going to back away and leave his Wacey to them.
He got a smack to the stomach and looked up at Jared who was glaring at him. “Don’t think of me like that,” he said. It was a fake glare though and Jensen could feel the humor behind it.
“Sorry, years of trying not to call you Jay in my head. Might take a while to break.”
“You’re going to need therapy, aren’t you?”
“It’s possible.” He said it straight faced and Jared started laughing again before he turned back to the people surrounding them. He was quickly engulfed in waiting arms and Jensen just basked in the affection and love he felt radiating from them. Since he’d become an empathy, there hadn’t been much in the way of happy reunions and it was nice to enjoy it. He felt his own parents come up beside him and his Mom pulled him into a hug. His brothers and sister were back in their houses, letting Jared and Jensen get settled in before they bombarded them too. Jensen was grateful for it, and when his mother pulled back to tell him about it he just smiled. “I know, Mom. Thanks.”
It still surprised her that Jensen could read her mind, but he figured in time she would become comfortable with it. His sister had started throwing out random thoughts to him when they’d last met, but to his surprise his father was doing it now. There was a litany of ‘proud of you, son,’ and ‘you did good,’ and then the details of how they’d passed word through the network to find Jared’s family and get them to the village in time for Jared to arrive.
He didn’t have the gratitude in words, so he simply opened himself up and allowed his father to feel it. The man wasn’t an empath but Jensen was able to push his emotions on others and he saw the tears in his father’s eyes before he was pulled into a hug.
“You boys probably need to get settled in and changed. We’ll get some food on the table for you. Unless something has changed drastically, I’m guessing Jared will still eat enough for three.”
Jared grinned at Samantha and pulled her into a hug. “I’m still a growing boy,” he said with a laugh.
Jensen took the opportunity to smack Jared’s stomach. “Grow much more Sasquatch and they’ll have to raise the roofs on the house just to get you in the door.”
“Come on then,” Jared’s mom pulled at his wrist. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up. We have a room set up for you already.”
Jensen felt Jared’s surprise but then Jensen should have known Jared would be too caught up in the others that he didn’t borrow Jensen’s talent. The whole Padalecki family was set to take Jared by force if they had to. They didn’t know their son though and Jensen didn’t doubt the outcome of the conversation. When he looked up at Samantha she smiled and tapped her head. He took a peek into her mind and there was the image of a house down the street and she, the villagers, and Jensen’s family had set it up for them. He sent a mental thank you to her and watched her blush at the thought before waving his thanks away.
He turned his attention back to Jared who was staring at his mother still. “Jared, we’re just down the street.” Jensen felt Jared’s pull on the bond and he knew Jared was tapping into his powers now.
“Mom, I love you and I’m so glad we found you safe, but I didn’t come here to leave Jensen.”
“Jared, we don’t need to decide that now. We just want you to come get cleaned up.”
Jared sighed. “Mom, I’m bonded to Jensen and that’s not changing.”
“It was forced on you. You didn’t have a choice.”
“It was forced on him too. Twice. We didn’t have a choice when it happened, but we had a choice to go back and get the bond severed. We chose not to.”
Jensen took a step forward until he was at Jared’s back. He wasn’t claiming Jared in any way, just showing his support. He didn’t think Jared believed the thought any more than Jensen did, but he wasn’t going to admit how badly his protective instinct wanted to just throw Jared over his shoulder and walk him down to their home.
“Our home?” Jared turned to look at him.
“Oh hell, get out of my head Jay, I’m trying to be nice.”
“Since when?”
“Shut up,” Jensen groused but Jared was smiling, dimples and all, and Jared’s father seemed to understand.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t come clean up with us though, does it?” his father asked. “We’d just like to get a chance to see you again son. Jensen can come too.”
Jared’s mom didn’t look pleased at the invitation but Jensen stopped any such thoughts. “Why don’t Jared and I get our bags stowed in our home and clean up. We’ll meet you at Samantha’s for dinner and you can have Jared after? I wouldn’t mind a chance to see my own family,” he admitted with a wink for his mother.
“Perfect,” Jared said, pulled Jensen past the rest of the crowd before anyone else could object.
They were half way down the street when Jared looked at Jensen. “You do know where we’re going, don’t you?”
Jensen laughed as he wrapped an arm over Jared’s shoulder. “Does it really matter?”
Jared stopped him in the middle of the street and kissed him softly. “No it really doesn’t. It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we have each other.”