Fic: Alley Love

Nov 28, 2022 00:18

Title: Alley Love
Fandom: SPN RPS, 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lonestar
Pairing: J2, (past) Jensen/Carlos, Buck/Eddie, (mentioned) Carlos/T.K.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jared meets Jensen in the corridor of their apartment. As a firefighter, Jensen often comes home at wee hours. When they go out for lunch, they meet Jensen’s ex boyfriend. Apparently, that’s the least of the problem.
AN: Inspired by Elly the alley cat, Written for J2 Reversebang. My biggest thanks to my artist, alexiescherryslurpy, and my awesome beta, jdl71



Jared couldn’t stop watching the reels on this social media about Elly the alley cat. This cat was so cute. She would wander on the corridor of the apartment where her master lived, and greet everyone who passed by. You might hate cats but see if you could resist Elly’s charm. Most people seemed to have fallen under her spell. They would stop a moment to pat her head, at least.

Jared sighed. He really should go back to the story he’d been trying to write instead of watching videos on the internet. To say that he’d been having writer’s block was such an understatement. It had been months since he last added anything to the mess he dared call a story draft. And his agent had been nagging at him, calling him every other day.

Getting up from his chair to stretch his back, Jared fixed his night robe. Oh yeah, he was so used to wearing a night robe all day in his apartment. He never went out anyway. He didn’t cook or anything. He simply got pizza or burgers. Such an unhealthy way of life, he had to admit. Perhaps that was why he had no ideas for his stories. Oh well.

Checking out his laptop again, he saw how Elly literally threw herself on top of a man’s feet. The voice-over of her master said that it was a man living right next door and Elly loved him so much. Luckily, the man liked her, too.

A muffled sound of footsteps came from outside and without thinking, Jared leaped up to the door and opened it.

“Hey,” he said to a man unlocking the door to the apartment across the hall. “Are you new?”

“Huh?” The man slowly turned, and a gasp left Jared.

Those eyes. They were the most beautiful pair of greens Jared had ever seen.

“I’m not, actually. Been here for almost a month,” the eyes’ owner replied.

“Really? How come I’ve never seen you before?” Jared asked.

“Well, maybe I get home when you’re either in bed already or at work.” His stunning eyes raked down Jared’s body and Jared realized he must be wondering about his night robe.

“Uh, yeah.” Jared combed his longish hair with his fingers. “No, I don’t go to the office or something. My home is the place I work.”

“You work remotely like that?”

“Nah.” Jared shook his head. “I’m a writer so I always work from home.”

“That’s cool,” the man responded. He looked doubtful and pointed at his door. “Look, I’d love to talk to you, but I only have several hours to sleep before going back to work.”

What was his job, Jared wondered. But that had to wait.

“Gosh, sure. Go ahead. Sorry for disturbing you.” Jared immediately retreated back to his apartment and closed the door right when he heard his neighbor saying something. But it was too late, and Jared didn’t want to impose himself more.

But darn it! He didn’t ask his neighbor’s name!

***

“You didn’t dis-” Jensen’s words were cut off as Jared closed the door before him. That was too bad.

With shoulders slumped, Jensen stepped into his apartment. That man looked like a hippy with his bright oriental-patterned night robe that was half open showing off his sculpted chest. To make it worse, Jensen hadn’t had the chance to ask his name.

Perhaps this afternoon he would turn up again-when Jensen had had enough rest, and bathed. The shower he’d had at the station was enough to rid of the smoky smell he was engulfed in, but still, he craved for more.

It wasn’t that he was complaining. Jensen was glad to be assigned to L.A. from his earlier home base in Austin, Texas. In fact, he was utterly grateful to leave. Jensen wasn’t sure how he could ever step foot into the station. Not after-

Well, Austin had been a home for him. His parents moved there from Richardson where Jensen was born a year later. He’d spent his entire life there. School, college, work. He’d thought he’d meet the love of his life in this very town as well, and would live happily ever after. But a dream would always be a dream. Especially after that T.K. character came into the picture.

Having a new captain he thought would be great, at first, especially after the disaster that had befallen their firehouse. And Owen was such an attentive boss, albeit his weird obsession with skin care products. Yet it was then understood the reason why. The poor man must still feel the dust and debris covering his face.

If only Owen hadn’t taken his son with him to Texas.

Well. Now Jensen had better just go to sleep. He was going to need his energy for the night shift.

***

“Yo, Jensen,” Eddie greeted him once he got to the station. “You haven’t said yes or no to my son’s birthday party this weekend.”

Jensen stopped short. “I haven’t?” The fact was he completely forgot all about it. Blame his new neighbor who occupied his mind night and day. A neighbor Jensen didn’t even know the name of!

“Sure, absolutely. Count me in.”

“Great.” Eddie grinned. “And bring a partner, uh, a friend with you if you want.”

Partner? Friend? Yeah, after months spent in L.A., he’d totally have a friend, or better yet, a partner.

It was just that, after Carlos, Jensen didn’t know if he’d ever meet someone like that again.

Yes, it was true that Carlos had betrayed him. Still. Carlos was the sweetest man he had ever met. Jensen sighed inwardly. T.K. was such a lucky man to have him.

“Hello? Earth to Jensen?”

“Huh?” Jensen didn’t know Eddie was still here. “What?”

“I lost you for a while there. Something troubling you?”

Jensen thought only southerners liked to meddle in others’ affairs. He shook his head, smiling.

“Nah. Nothing. Your kid, Chris, how old will he be?”

“He’ll be eleven,” said Eddie.

“Really? Oh, he must be a handful.”

Eddie broke into laughter. “He is, but he’s so adorable.”

“I bet he is. So, anything I can bring over?” Jensen asked.

“Just an empty stomach. Or two.”

“About that-”

“Hey.” Eddie raised his hands. “You don’t have to say anything to me. I was just kidding.”

Just when Jensen was about to say something, Bobby called them both.

“Hey, you two. Come over here or you’ll miss my spaghetti.”

“Coming, Cap,” said Jensen and Eddie at the same time. They looked at each other, grinning.

***

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“It’s my brother. He-he can’t breathe. He was playing with mothballs, sniffing at them. Then one got into his nose!”

“How old is your brother?”

“He’s three.”

“What’s your name, buddy?”

“Tommy. Please, I think he’s in pain.”

“We’re sending you help. Tommy, are your parents at home?”

“Just grandma.”

“Okay. Help is coming, Tommy. Don’t worry.”

“I think I heard them outside. I’ll go open the door.”

“Go ahead. You’re a good brother, Tommy.”

Jensen held Tommy’s brother while Eddie worked on getting the mothball out of the little boy’s nostril. Tommy was worried that his brother couldn’t breathe, but now he could smile again as Eddie showed him the mothball.

“You want to keep it?” asked Eddie.

Tommy scrunched up his nose. “Ew, no. Gross.”

Eddie and the rest of the squad laughed.

***

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“Help! The slides broke into two. Kids are hurt!”

“Where are you? At school?”

“Yes. Here at Green Oaks Preschool.”

The address was given and LAFD Station 118 was dispatched.

“Jensen, Buck, clear the slides. Eddie, Hen, check the injured kids.”

“Aye, Cap.”

They were all busy taking care of the incident when a little girl retched. Chimney ran to her and a woman knelt beside her.

“Is she hurt, too? Was she playing on the slides when-”

“No, she wasn’t,” the woman cut him out quickly, stroking the girl who bent over heaving. “Ava, what’s wrong, honey? Are you sick?”

Chimney gave the woman some wet wipes and offered them water. “Has she been feeling unwell? Are you her mother?”

“Yes, I’m her mother. But I don’t know if she’s sick so far. Ava, please tell me.”

But the girl kept quiet. She actually looked miserable there and very pale. Several times she seemed as if she were about to hurl again.

“Did she eat or drink something?”

“Just the stuff she brought from home.”

“May I see?”

The mother showed a half-empty lunch box with French fries and mixed vegetables inside. But when she opened the drinking bottle, Chimney almost gagged.

“What do you have here?” He was that close to snapping.

“I-I thought… This morning it was all right.“

“Milk doesn’t get spoiled fast if it’s still good in the morning. Are you sure it was still okay?” Chimney brought the bottle to some bushes and threw away the entire content of the bottle. The smell got worse.

“I guess, I just refill it every morning.” The mother’s voice went shaky.

“You refill it-after you wash it, right?”

Round eyes were the only answer Chimney got. “My God,” he whispered and turned to action at once. “The little girl’s got food poisoning. Hen, get her to the hospital now. She should be monitored for any damage or bacteria inside her body. I believe this has happened for a while.”

“Oh my God.” The mother was sobbing. “She-she’s going to be okay, right?”

Chimney turned to her. “Look, ma’am. What you’ve done is very harmful to her. We should wait for the test results from the doctors at the hospital. Otherwise, we don’t know exactly how her condition is.”

Chimney and Hen left after getting Bobby’s permission.

***

Jared heard a soft ding coming from the elevator and immediately opened the door. He smiled at the sight of his new neighbor walking down the hall but turned worried as he saw how disheveled he looked.

“Hey, are you all right?”

In lieu of an answer, his neighbor gave him, “What are you doing still up in such hours?”

“Uh.” Jared fidgeted. “I was waiting for you. You said you might be home when I was asleep already. I don’t want to miss that again. What do you do, anyway, just home at this hour?”

His neighbor’s jaw slacked before he chuckled.

“I’m a firefighter. You’re not some kind of a stalker, are you?”

Jared threw his head back, laughing. “I don’t know. I’m just so obsessed with a neighbor I don’t even know the name of. At least I’m not actually following you around. I simply wait at your door. Figuratively.”

“Hmm. Then you’re more like a cat. Hey.” The neighbor offered a hand. “I’m Jensen, by the way.”

Jared shook his hand. “And I’m Jared. It’s so great to meet you.”

“Likewise,” said Jensen. “Now that we introduced ourselves, you don’t have to stalk me or wait for me at the door. Simply knock at it. But, uh, if you don’t mind, can I be excused now? Feel like falling asleep on my feet right now.”

“Oh God, sure. Yeah, you must be exhausted. I’m so sorry. Perhaps breakfast or brunch tomorrow at my place? Pop in anytime after you’ve rested enough.”

Jensen gave a thumbs up. “Will do.” He fumbled a little with his keys before disappearing behind his door. But Jared could still hear Jensen’s, “See you, Jared!”

So, his new neighbor's name was Jensen.

***

So, his neighbor’s name was Jared. If he weren’t too tired, Jensen would be more than glad to come over to Jared’s apartment and spend not so little time with him. Jared was too sexy with his dimples and broad shoulders. He’d make a perfect fireman.

But yeah, the state that Jensen was in right now might be to blame for what he was thinking. Perhaps he could think more straight, no pun intended when he woke up later.

Jensen found he still wanted to go meet Jared when he got up at almost 10 that morning. Jared had told him he could come anytime he wanted-he wouldn’t go anywhere. So after brushing his teeth, washing his face, and feeling he was more presentable than before, Jensen changed clothes and headed to his next-door neighbor.

Jensen knocked once, twice, and he heard the lock turn open. A grinning Jared appeared behind the door when it was opened.

“You came!”

“’course I did.”

“Please, please come in.” Jared ushered him in and locked the door again behind him. “You look great.”

“And I feel great. Much better than earlier this morning.” Jensen felt surprised by himself. It was much easier to banter with Jared than with Carlos. Perhaps because Carlos was always careful with what he said, thought Jensen then.

“You hungry?” asked Jared. “You haven’t had breakfast, have you?”

“No, I haven’t. And yes, I’m starving. This morning when I got home, I thought I was starving, too. Planned to have a sandwich or something, but I was too beat to open my eyes.”

Again, Jensen shocked himself with this little oversharing. He just met Jared, what, like, yesterday? So why did it feel as though Jensen had known him for years?

Back to earth, Jensen saw Jared did not seem like he was aware of the turmoil in Jensen’s head.

“Bacon and egg okay?” Jared asked.

Jensen nodded several times, gulping down his saliva. “Sounds delightful. You always cook your meals by yourself?”

“Oh yeah. That is of course if I don’t happen to order a pizza.”

They both laughed. Jared put some strips of bacon and broke two eggs into the frying pan. They sizzled deliciously. “Pour yourself a glass of orange juice. I think still have a carton in the fridge.”

“You don’t have coffee?” asked Jensen. He wasn’t alive yet before he got coffee running in his vein.

“Ha, of course.” Jared nodded to the corner of the kitchen where the coffeemaker sat on the countertop. “Help yourself. Black, I guess?”

“You just can guess, huh?” Jensen smiled. What else could Jared guess about him?

Jensen looked around the apartment. Not bad for a single man’s place. The Jared he first met earlier gave him the impression that he was an eccentric guy with peculiar stuff in his dwelling. It turned out that Jared might even be better than Jensen at arranging his place.

A small study table in the corner of the room with a tiny-ish laptop on it reminded Jensen that Jared was a writer. “So,” he asked. “What’s your recent project?”

“Uh-uh no.” Jared shook his head. “I’m such a superstitious person. I’m afraid to jinx it if I talk about unfinished work.”

Jensen paused a second before he shook his head. “No, that’s okay. Everyone believes in different things. You have the right to that.”

Jared nodded. “Thanks for understanding. Others usually just mock me.”

Jensen was suddenly filled with an unreasonable sense of anger, somewhat being protective of Jared. “Now they have no right mocking you for something you believe in. It’s very personal.”

“You’re right, but ignore them. I never think about other people’s opinions. They’re just noise from me.”

“Good thinking.”

Then nobody said anything. To say they were being awkward was such an understatement. Jensen looked around the room, humming some indistinct tunes as he was searching for something, anything, to talk about, when suddenly Jared asked, “Would you like to have lunch with me?”

Jensen whirled his head so quickly that he got dizzy. “What?”

“Have lunch. With me. Today.” Jared turned away.

So. It mustn’t be Jensen who was shocked. Jared must have surprised himself. Jensen swallowed.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. What do you have in mind?”

“Well,” Jared dragged his word. “I actually haven’t thought further than just asking you earlier. What do you like?”

“Me? I’d eat anything.” Jensen grinned.

“So we just play it by ear?” Jared suggested.

“Fine with me.” He looked down at his T-shirt and pants. “Think I’m going to have to change first.”

“Sure. But hey, don’t you have to go to work?”

“Of course. After lunch.”

“Ah, that’s right. You worked till such late hours last night. You’re not going to do that again today, are you?”

“That depends. No one knows what’s going to happen today.”

***

They decided to pick a place where they simply could chat and relax. Jared took Jensen to a Chinese restaurant not far from their apartment, just a couple of blocks away, called Harmony Dumplings.

“Hey, this is such a nice place. I like the red and golden banners and decorations,” said Jensen.

“It’s one of my favorite restaurants,” Jared said. “Close to my place, and it has the best pork dumplings I’ve ever had.”

“Really? Then let’s have them.”

“Let’s,” Jared said, pulling out a chair for Jensen.

Jensen chuckled as he sat down. “Such a gentleman. You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. You’re my guest.”

“Are you ready to order, guys?” A waitress dressed in a traditional cheongsam was suddenly by their table. She’d placed the menu in front of each of them.

“I’ll have…” Jensen was checking the menu before he looked up at Jared. “What do you recommend?”

“Pork dumplings,” said Jared at once. “That’s a must-have.”

“We’d recommend that as well,” said the waitress.

“So, pork dumplings for me. This steamed rice with shrimp looks enticing, too,” Jensen said.

Jared, of course, asked for the dumplings, besides seafood fried rice. He also ordered some egg rolls for both of them.

The restaurant had such a quick service that their food came in no time. Jared smiled at the twinkling of the stars in Jensen’s eyes as he stared at the beautiful, hot, steaming dumplings in the bamboo containers after the waitress opened them. “Go on, try it.”

Jensen took one dumpling with a pair of chopsticks and ate it all at once. “Oh, this is great,” he said while munching on the treat. He grabbed another, and another.

“Save a place for your steamed rice. It’s not bad, either.”

Jensen chuckled and gulped down a small cupful of warm Chinese jasmine tea. “I believe you. Wow, I guess everything's good in this place. Even the tea is so refreshing.”

“Told you.” Jared laughed.

When the steamed rice with shrimp came over, Jensen didn’t waste even a second to finish it. He sighed in satisfaction. “Wow. It’s been a while since I last enjoyed a meal like this. Thank you, Jared.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. But I hope it doesn’t mean that it’s been a while since you enjoyed any meal at all. You look as if you need fattening up.”

“Oh not at all.” Jensen guffawed. “I do eat. I’m not that skinny. Though I have to admit I’d like to be like that Eddie guy at the station. He has such a perfect body.”

Jared felt a slight pang of-jealousy?-when Jensen talked about his buddy. But he tried to rid himself of the feeling.

“You should introduce me to that friend of yours, Jen,” Jared said instead.

“Yeah?” Jensen looked down while playing a little with his teacup. “And why would I do that?”

“Because-” Jared flicked Jensen’s chin up with his thumb. “I want to prove to you that you’re the perfect one.” He saw how Jensen blushed and seemed to struggle not to dip his face again. It was impossible to do anyway since Jared still clutched his chin.

“Uh.” Jensen squirmed a little. “Please. People are staring at us.”

“Let them.” Jared chuckled. “Okay, okay.” He let go of Jensen. “Sorry. You’re just too adorable.”

“A three-year-old girl is adorable. I’m not adorable,” Jensen protested.

“And you’re just being even more adorable!”

Jensen opened his mouth, seemingly ready to let out a new string of words of objection, but then he froze. His eyes trained on a spot over Jared’s shoulder.

“Jen? Are you okay?”

Instead of replying to Jared, Jensen let out a whispered hiss, “What are you doing here?”

“What? What did you say? Hey.” Jared reached out to grab Jensen’s arm, but right at that moment, Jensen leaped off his chair and bolted out of the door.

“Jensen!”

To Jared’s surprise, he wasn’t the only one crying out Jensen’s name.

***

“Who are you?” They should have played jinx for all the simultaneous yelling and questions, Jared and the stranger.

Jared replied first. “I’m his new neighbor and a friend,” he said, rising from his chair. He wanted to add how he had waited for Jensen until past midnight but it sounded stalkery even to his ears.

“Yeah?” said the man. “Well, I’m his boyfriend. Technically I’m his ex now, but whatever!”

It was as if a bomb was dropped on Jared’s head. His ears were ringing and he struggled to form his next words.

“B-boyfriend?” he said faintly. “Jensen never mentioned anything about having a boyfriend.”

The man visibly winced. “Of course not,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I’m here not to meet him, actually. I’m here to track someone who is hunting him down.”

Jared’s jaw slacked. “Hunting him down? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Someone is trying to kill him.”

“Seriously?”

“I am. I got the info he was somewhere close by. Btw, I’m Carlos, with the Houston Police Department.” The man, Carlos, offered his hand.

Jared shook the hand. “Ah, you’re a cop. I wouldn’t know it without the uniform.” He wondered what exactly Jensen’s type was. Apparently, firefighters often dated cops. After all, they worked together in the field. Jared eyed Carlos’ fitted polo shirt over his muscled body and his sculpted Hispanic face. Carlos was a stunning man, no doubt about it. So why did they break up? Who dumped who?

But clearly, Jared had been distracted because there was a more pressing matter at the moment. He shook himself inwardly.

“About Jensen-why does someone want to kill him? And who?”

Carlos stared at him closely, as if studying him. “I don’t know if can I trust you enough to tell you about the case,” he said then. “But I need to find Jensen now. I have to keep him safe.”

Well, Jared wanted to do that, too. “I think I know where he is. Back to the apartment.”

“Good thinking. Is it far from here?”

“Just a couple of blocks away. We walked to this restaurant just now.”

“Then let’s go. We shouldn’t waste any more time.”

Jared felt relieved they were done eating. But poor Jensen. He must have still wanted to chill some more.

Carlos and he walked to the apartment without much talking. They took the elevator to the sixth floor where Jared's and Jensen’s apartments were located. Jared ran to Jensen’s door and began to rap.

“Jensen, open up,” he called out. “Jensen! Are you there?”

No answer. And it didn’t seem there was someone inside. Everything was too quiet. Jared turned to Carlos, feeling suddenly terrified.

“Move away,” said Carlos, who looked ready to slam into the door.

“Wait!” Jared stopped him. “Here, I have something. Better than crushing the door apart.” His hand dove into the front pocket of his pants and came back up with a small box. He opened it and showed it to Carlos. “Please use this.”

Carlos lifted an eyebrow as he glanced at it and squinted at Jared. “A lock pick? Who are you, really?”

“Well, I’m a writer. Sometimes I need reality to guide me in my writing.”

Carlos huffed but he took it anyway. “It’s getting more difficult to trust you now.”

“I don’t need you to trust me. You just have to find Jensen.”

“We will.” He managed to open the door and barged in. “Jensen!” Carlos shouted. “Are you in here? Jensen!”

Jared followed suit. He cried out Jensen’s name while checking the rooms one by one. The bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, and a small room at the back.

But nothing. No one was there. The apartment was empty. Jensen was nowhere to be found.

“Where the hell is he?” Jared stared at Carlos as deep fear suddenly filled him. Many questions ran around his brain. What happened to him? What if the one hunting him got him? What if-

“Do you know his workplace?” Carlos cut in pulling him out of his thoughts. “He might be going there.”

Jared just found out that Jensen was a firefighter. Hell, they just met a few nights ago. They practically didn’t know anything about each other.

“He’s a firefighter,” Jared started before Carlos chimed in.

“Yes, I know that. Where is his station?”

Duh. Of course, Carlos knew Jensen’s job. They were a couple anyway.

“We…haven’t really talked a lot,” said Jared.

“Well, that’s okay.” Carlos took out his cell phone. “I’ll call his old office and ask where he was transferred to.”

Jared just stared, dumbfounded. If Carlos had known he could just ask Jensen’s old office, why wouldn’t he have just done it earlier?

“Right. Yeah. Thanks, Owen. I’ll update you when we have new info,” said Carlos into the cell phone before he hung up.

“Well, did you get the address?” asked Jared.

“Yes. Owen said it’s on East Temple St.”

“Right. It’s pretty close to here. No wonder Jensen rents an apartment here.” Who was Owen? Carlos didn’t say more about the man. Jared wondered why.

But he let it be and hailed a cab instead to go to Jensen’s fire station.

Apparently, there was no emergency call as there were still many people around.

“Can I help you?” A tall, blond-haired man greeted them.

“Um, yeah. Can I see Jensen Ackles? Is he in?” Carlos asked.

“You know Jensen? And you are?” The man squinted.

Jared couldn’t hold himself back. “Please, this is an emergency. Is Jensen here or not?”

“Whoa, whoa. Now you too. What’s this, Jensen Ackles Fans Club?”

“Yo, Buck. Who are they?”

Someone called out from inside the wide garage.

“No idea. They’re looking for Jensen, though.”

“Jensen? I haven’t seen him today.” The second man, Asian and smaller than the first, Buck, joined them. “Who’s looking for him?” He eyed Jared and Carlos.

Carlos offered his hand. “Name’s Carlos Reyes from Houston PD and this is…” He turned to Jared. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier.”

“It’s Jared Padalecki, and I’m Jensen’s next-door neighbor.”

“Why does a Houston cop come all the way here looking for our friend? Did Jensen commit a crime or something?”

“No, but can we talk to your captain?”

“Huh.” Buck and the Chinese guy looked at each other before the latter nodded. “Come on. By the way, it’s Chimney.”

“Excuse me?” asked Jared.

“People call me Chimney around here,” said Chimney, grinning.

“Heh.” Jared chuckled despite himself. He had a feeling he could like the man, Chimney.

“There he is.” Chimney pointed at someone standing next to a long table in an open room that looked like a dining area. “Our Captain. Hey, Bobby. These gentlemen here want to see Jensen.”

“Where’s Jensen?” Bobby asked.

“No one has seen him yet.”

“What?”

“Yeah. That’s why they are looking for him.” Chimney gestured at Jared and Carlos.

“Why are they looking for him? Is he in trouble or what?” The captain looked completely perplexed.

Carlos walked forward. “If I may, Captain…”

“Nash. Bobby Nash.” He took Carlos’ hand. “Who am I talking to?”

“My name’s Reyes. Carlos Reyes. I’m a police officer from Houston PD. And this is Jared, Jensen’s neighbor.”

“Houston-isn’t that where Jensen comes from?”

“Yes, that’s right. Captain Nash, can we sit and talk? It’s, umm, a bit of a long story.”

They all sat down in the captain’s office, the captain behind the desk, some on the couch, and Buck perched on the corner of Bobby’s huge table. Then Carlos started recounting the most jaw-dropping story Jared had ever heard, seeing that this was a true story.

It had started several days ago when a man stopped by the Houston PD headquarters. The name was Christian Kane. He was the lawyer for the Winchester family of Winchester Petroleum, one of the biggest oil companies in Texas.

Kane reported a possible murder plan by Gerald Winchester, the younger brother of the late John Winchester, once the owner of Winchester Petroleum. When he died, he was succeeded by his own wife, Mary.

Mary then fell very ill and Gerald prepared to take over the company since John and Mary didn’t have children of their own. But that was before she dropped a bomb, telling everyone that they actually had a son but she didn’t know where he was or if he was even alive. Mary insisted they find her child before she passed.

John and Mary couldn’t have a child. They had tried everything possible way so that Mary could get pregnant, but it all failed. The last resort was surrogacy and they made sure they had picked the right person who would carry their child and surrender them when the time came.

It turned out differently. The girl having the Winchester’s kid changed her mind. She couldn’t make herself give away the child.

She ran away with the Winchester heir within her.

Time passed. She had a baby boy. But the delivery had not been done in the cleanest place. The girl got a very bad infection and she died not long after bringing her baby out into the world.

Child Services put the boy in one of the orphanages and, long story short, he came to the caring hands of Alan and Donna Ackles in Richardson, Texas.

Short gasps followed the revelation in the story.

“So Jensen isn’t who he said he is?”

“He is the heir of Winchester Petroleum? Whoa.”

“Wait, wait.” Carlos calmed them all down. “That’s not the end of the story. After the lost Winchester son had been found, the dynamics in that household changed.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jared.

“Kane said people distrust each other and some staff taking care of the house caught Gerald, the brother, planning something bad even though Mrs. Winchester is still alive. When others are trying to find Jensen to bring him home to meet his mother, Gerald has the sole purpose of wiping Jensen’s existence from the earth.”

“That’s just some suspicion, isn’t it, about Gerald wanting to kill Jensen?”

“Kane finally overheard Gerald speaking on the phone saying exactly the words: kill Jensen. That was when the lawyer decided to report it to the cop, especially when Gerald went missing. I was assigned to the case and after tracking him for some time, I managed to follow Gerald here.”

“And now he might be out there with Jensen in his hands,” said Captain Nash, pondering.

“We have to find him quickly,” said Jared.

Suddenly someone called out in a distance, “Emergency call! Someone got shot in the park!”

Everyone in Captain Nash’s office got to their feet.

“Where, what park?”

“The park across the street?”

“Oh God, don’t let it be Jensen.”

Several firefighters and paramedics had already run outside to the park carrying medical kits, patient assessment tools, and trauma bags.

“Has the shooter been localized? Be careful out there!” This was said by Carlos.

Jared’s impulse was to shout, ‘Call 911!’ But the information was actually from them and now they were all headed to the location. Jared hoped the cops would arrive soon, too.

He finally got to the park and saw a man lying face down quite far in the middle of the park. Several firefighters were there already and they all looked busy turning the man around and yelling to each other. Jared couldn’t quite catch what they were talking about.

“He still breathing?” He heard Chimney calling out when Jared finally got close. “Hen, you see where the bullet hit?”

Jared charged in among the people surrounding the victim. Is it Jensen? Please, don’t let it be Jensen!

But it was him. Jensen was the one lying prone unmoving on the ground. Jared felt his head spinning. There was so much blood on the front of Jensen’s body.

“He’s still alive!” the female paramedic checking up Jensen shouted. “The bullet got him square on the right side of his abdomen. He might have been hit in his liver or kidney. We need to send him quickly to the hospital.”

“Do it.” Bobby barked an order. And turned around as he heard questions,

“Anybody witness where the shot came from? Was it long or short distance?”

“Athena, thank God you’re here,” he said. “Sorry, but we can’t say anything about that. We just got here after the emergency call. Perhaps you should ask around.”

“We will. But no more shootings after you arrived?”

“No.” Bobby shook his head.

Jared didn’t hear the reply from the female officer as he then followed the paramedics taking Jensen on a gurney.

“Hey, can I come with him in the ambulance? I really care for him and I want to make sure he’s all right.”

Chimney and the other paramedic-Hen?-looked at each other. Then Chimney nodded at the back door of the ambulance. “Get in.”

“Thank you,” said Jared, jumping in, and parked himself next to Jensen. “You’re going to be okay,” he said in a hushed voice. “Just hang in there.”

***

Three and a half hours. That was how long Jensen spent in the surgery. Jared and Carlos took turns staying in the hospital. But from the time when they were both in the hospital, Jared learned why Carlos didn’t talk much about Owen, Jensen’s ex-boss in Houston.

“He’s still giving me the cold shoulder for dating his son,” said Carlos.

“Why? Shouldn’t he be happy you’re dating his son?”

“He was upset because I broke up with one of his men and made him leave,” Carlos explained.

“Yeah, well.” Jared contemplated. “It’s not your fault Jensen wanted to go. What's more, I’m happy that it happened. I got the chance to get to know him.”

Carlos smiled a little. “You’re right.”

“And now we’re here together praying that he’ll be all right and will wake up soon,” said Jared.

“Yup.” Carlos offered him a fist bump, and Jared hit it back.

***

It was midnight when Carlos shook Jared, who had fallen asleep on the chair, awake.

“Hey,” Carlos whispered. “The surgery is done. They transferred Jensen to the recovery ward.”

“Oh.” Jared sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked around. Several people gazed back at him. Captain Nash, Chimney, Buck, and another man that Jared hadn’t met before.

“This is Eddie from the station, too. Eddie is also my partner.” Buck smiled at Eddie, who smiled back at him.

“Hi,” said Eddie to Jared. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too. So you’re together?” Jared pointed at both Eddie and Buck.

“Yeah.” Eddie laughed. “I’m sorry someone shot Jensen.”

“Oh, we’re not together, yet.” Jared smiled. “I do hope so, though. He’s not awake?”

“No,” said Chimney. “Doctor said perhaps in the morning. But who knows? You may sit inside Jensen’s room to wait if you want.”

***

Jared was there when Jensen opened his eyes. He was also present when Jensen was strong enough to listen to Carlos explaining what had happened to him and why.

“So, how do you feel to be an heir to an oil billionaire?” teased Jared.

Jensen sighed, sitting up and groaning a little.

“Hey, you okay?” Jared was at the bedside at once. “Don’t move too much.”

“Yeah.” Jensen took a deep breath. “As to your question about being an heir, I think we should wait for the result of the DNA test first.”

“But supposed it’s real. Will you accept Mary as your mother?”

“I don’t know. As far as I know, I have parents who I love so much and they love me back.”

“That’s true, Jen,” a voice from the door replied. Jensen turned his head quickly.

“Mom!” he exclaimed. “And Dad! Gosh, you have no idea how happy to see you here.”

Jared retreated to give space to Jensen’s parents to give him big hugs.

“Oh, my dear boy, how terrible it was to hear what happened. We’re so happy you are awake and well,” said Jensen’s father.

“Thanks to the brilliant doctors here, Dad.”

“And you must be Jared. We talked a lot on the phone. Thank you so much for taking care of our son here.“

“It’s nothing, really. I care about him.”

Jensen stared at him, eyes turning glassy, and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Jared didn’t know what Jensen decided to do about his life. That would be his own business. He was all right and well right now. That was the most important thing to Jared.

Fin

j2_reversebang

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