Fic: Finding My Way Home Started With Finding You part 3
Title: Finding My Way Home Started With Finding You part 3
Jensen/Jared slash - NC-17
For a complete list of characters, warnings, disclaimer, summary and author's notes please see Master Post.
Scott shifted on the couch, bringing his legs up and stretching across it.
“I’m such an idiot.” He grumbled to himself as he stared blankly at the TV.
He had known that agreeing to let Sandy come with him had been a mistake from the get go. As if it wasn’t bad enough knowing that she was only coming because she wanted to stay as close to him as possible, now he was stuck helping her baby-sit a precocious three year old so that a couple of her friends could have a romantic weekend getaway.
It was just what he wanted, to be stuck in Red Rock, Missouri for the next two days. Not that the idea of baby-sitting the little boy bothered him, in fact he was kind of enjoying that, although he’d noticed about an hour after they’d gotten there that being around him was causing a longing in him that he couldn’t explain. It was making him wonder if somewhere there was child waiting for his or her daddy to come home or if it was just that suddenly he wanted to have kids. And didn’t that make him sound like a chick?
But still, enjoying being around the little boy or not, it still annoyed him that he was stuck there.
“He’s finally asleep.”
He glanced over as Sandy walked into the room and sighed.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Somehow, he didn’t think that she spent the evenings at home wandering around the house in only a waist length white t-shirt and a pair of girl’s black boxer shorts. And yet there she was, flaunting her body for all it was worth.
Choosing to ignore his desire to demand she explain to him exactly what she thought she was going to accomplish by skipping around the house only half dressed he turned back to the TV. “Well let’s hope little man stays down for the night.”
She grinned at him as she came to a stop in front of him, effectively blocking his vision of anything else but her. “Are you going to share the couch?”
His gaze flickered around the room falling first on the comfy looking armchair and then the matching loveseat. “Sure.” He muttered as he dropped his feet back to the floor and tucked himself into the corner of the couch.
Fortunately she chose the other side of the couch. If she’d sat right beside him, he was pretty certain he would have grabbed his bag and left her behind.
“So, little man, huh?”
He turned away from the TV he was now resolutely feigning interest in, “Pardon?”
“You called Andrew “little man”. It’s cute.”
Scott blinked, “Did I?”
“No, Scott,” she bit back chuckling. “I’m making it up.”
He shrugged, “I didn’t notice.”
“Well, I still think it’s cute.”
He snorted as he turned away again, “Glad you approve.”
Sandy sighed, “What’s crawled up your ass?”
“Nothing.”
“Scott.”
He rolled his eyes before he shifted so that he could face her. “When I agreed to let you come with me, I thought you understood that I wanted to head for Texas right away.”
She stretched out her leg and rubbed his thigh with her foot. “It’s only for a couple days, Scott. If there’s anything waiting in Texas, it will still be there on Monday.”
He ground his teeth together before pulling himself up off the couch. “Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
He threw a glance at her as he started to leave the room, “It’s been a long day. Think I’ll turn in early.”
“It’s only nine thirty.” Sandy relied in dismay.
“Yeah, but I’ve got a headache.”
“I could rub your shoulders.”
Scott turned and shook his head. “Goodnight, Sandy.”
Her bottom lip puffed out, “Night.”
He turned away and groaned under his breath. He had definitely made a mistake in letting Sandy come with him.
***
Jensen suppressed a yawn, pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and stared blankly out of the window ahead of him.
Despite traveling with someone who was supposed to know where Jared was, it seemed like this trip was taking forever. First, they’d had to stop in Burlington the night before; now, granted they had driven for almost eight hours but he couldn’t help but feel that Chris was dragging this out as long as possible. And then, between getting his friend’s sorry ass out of bed, and then his insisting on breakfast, they hadn’t managed to get back on the road until almost 10 am. It was really starting to annoy the hell out of Jensen.
He guessed maybe it wouldn’t be getting to him so much if he’d had managed to get any sleep at all the night before but it had made sense to wait up for Jared’s call before trying to get a couple hours of sleep. It wasn’t a question of worrying that he wouldn’t call, because he was going to call; he had every night for the previous five nights, so why would Jensen think that that would change? Perhaps hiding out in the bathroom had been a little much but he didn’t want have to deal with Chris interrupting his call and maybe scaring Jared off.
Jensen had to wonder now, though, if he would have risked getting a couple hours of shuteye and chanced the cell waking Chris up, as well as himself, if he had known what Jared was going to say.
It had been going the same way as all the calls before, Jared begging to come home and he begging Jared, in turn, to tell him where he was. And then Jared had deviated for the first time in six days.
I want little man.
He felt fear slick his body even now, just thinking about what Jared had said. What was that supposed to mean anyway? He wanted to come home; he said he wanted to come home. But to say that he wanted Nathan, not “I want to see little man”, or “I miss little man”, made it sound like Jared was going to take Nate away from him. The thing was, legally he could. Jensen might be Nate’s adopted daddy but Jared was his biological father and, his disappearing act notwithstanding, it was highly likely the courts would take away Jensen’s adopted parental rights and then he would no longer have any say about his son, his little man.
He pulled his glasses off and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. He needed to find Jared and figure out what the hell was going on because this cryptic shit was going to send him to an early grave.
He shoved his glasses back on his face and stared at the approaching sign.
Welcome to Kansas
Dorothy was from Kansas. His tired mind helpfully supplied.
I wanna come home.
There’s no place like home.
I wanna come home.
There’s no place like home.
An image of Jared wearing a pair of ruby red heels, a Dorothy dress and his hair done up in braids assaulted his mind and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“What?”
“Do…Doro…Dorothy.” Jensen gasped and wiped at the corners of his eyes.
“Dorothy? Who the hell is Dorothy?” Chris grunted, “Dude, what the hell is up with you?”
He managed to suck in a deep breath, “Sorry.”
Jensen had to get himself under control before Chris took him directly to the nearest hospital.
“Ahhh.” He groaned, “Just thinking about Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.”
Chris glanced at him, raised eyebrow included, before turning back to the road. “And that is so fucking funny how?
He considered telling him about the image of Jared in red high heels and then immediately thought better of it. All things considered, the fact was that all he had done over the last week was claim that Jared was calling him, although everyone else believed he was dead, it probably wouldn’t be for the best to talk about seeing him in red heels, even if it was in his imagination. Somehow, he didn’t think Chris would see the connection or find it nearly as funny as he had. Of course, maybe he wouldn’t have found it so funny either if he hadn’t been so sleep deprived.
“Probably nothing,” he couldn’t help the chuckle all the same. “I’m just really tired, so everything seems humorous.”
Chris shot him a look once again before turning back. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Huh?”
He snorted, “Oh come on, Jen. I know you were still awake when I fell asleep last night. No one is that restless when they’re asleep without falling out of bed at least twice a night.”
He shrugged knowing that his friend would catch the movement out of the corner of his eye.
“You were waiting for him to call, weren’t you?”
Jensen turned to stare out the passenger window, “Yes, and before you ask, yes, Jared did call.”
“Did he say anything different this time? Like where exactly we’re going.”
His head snapped around, “I thought you knew where we were going.”
“No. I told you I know the closest town to the cell tower which has been pinpointed as being used by the cell.” He explained patiently, like he was explaining the difference between right and wrong to a small child. “It would make our lives a hell of a lot easier if we had an address instead of having to ask around.”
“Oh.” He forced his tense body to relax back into the seat. He had to get a grip on his temper, had to keep reminding himself that just because Steve and Chris didn’t believe that Jared was still alive, it didn’t mean that they were trying to sabotage his efforts in finding him. In fact, it was a ridiculous notion; he knew that. Now if he could only force his tired mind to believe it.
“So did he say anything different this time?”
I want little man.
He swallowed hard and turned back to stare intensely out the front window. “No.”
If the sudden silence that fell, thick and heavy, in the car was any indication, he hadn’t gotten the lie past Chris but he wasn’t going to explain his fear about Nathan to him, anymore than he was going to explain how his tired mind had connected a “Welcome to Kansas” sign, the Wizard of Oz and Jared in drag as Dorothy.
Still, he had to think of something to say, some way to stop the tension building between them. He was so tired of the constant undertone of anger thrumming between him and his best friends.
“Chris?”
“Yeah?”
This wasn’t going to help ease the tension but he needed to know, if for no other reason than it would give him something else to think about besides Jared.
I want little man.
He shook his head to get the voice out of his mind.
Jensen turned so he could look at Chris, “What’s going on between you and Steve?”
He watched Chris’ hands tighten on the steering wheel and a muscle jump in his jaw. “I would think that was obvious.”
“Not really.”
Chris snorted, “What part of four months and three days ago Steve put most of his shit in storage and moved in with you is not obvious?”
“The part where, if I didn’t know any different, I wouldn’t know that there was anything wrong between the two of you after your behavior at my place yesterday.”
“How about we play road bingo?”
He rolled his eyes, “Kane, I have put up with Steve moping around my house. I have put up with fielding calls from you and letting you know when Steve’s at his restaurant so that you can come see your godson. I have put up with getting glared at every time I mention either of your names to the other. Don’t you think it’s high time I got some sort of explanation about what the hell is up with you two?”
“Well, I don’t know about Steve,” he said quietly. “But with everything you’ve been handling, I figured that you had enough on your plate, without adding our shit.”
Jensen laughed bitterly, “Chris, Steve is living in my house. Your shit was added and mixed in months ago. Just tell me.”
Chris pulled on his bottom lip with his teeth and sighed heavily through his nose. “Steve has never really liked me being a cop.”
“So?” Jensen’s eyes widened, “Wait, are you saying he told you to quit or he’d leave?” It didn’t sound like something Steve would do but then he never would have thought that Jared would disappear for almost a year and then speak so cryptically to him when he finally opened contact between them again.
“No!” Chris shook his head violently. “You know Steve would never do anything like that. It’s just he’s worried about what might happen to me as a cop. It got better once I made detective but the old fears still remained and then, after Jared…”
He glanced over at Jensen.
“After he disappeared...”
“Not what I was gonna say.”
Jensen ran a hand through his hair, “I know what you were going to say but turns out that everybody, including Chad, was wrong about that, weren’t you?”
Chris shut his eyes and the muscle in his jaw jumped again. “Okay.” He muttered and stared hard out at the road ahead of them. “After Jared disappeared, Steve started talking about things that had been bothering him, for awhile apparently, but that he hadn’t bothered to mention to me.”
“Such as?”
“Such as, although by law, common law same sex partners have the same rights as married same sex partners in Colorado, if I died there’s still a chance that Steve could lose everything we worked together for to my parents, if they chose to challenge my will.”
Jensen thought about how his parents had taken it when he had told them that he was gay, about the long days of icy silences and heated arguments. But that had been going on fourteen years ago and he wanted to believe that things had improved past any chance that his parents would be petty enough to try to take everything away from Jared if something happened to him. Not that they could, he and Jared were legally married, but if they were like Chris and Steve? He didn’t think they would but I’m glad they’ll never have a chance.
“Would they?” He pressed Chris softly.
“No.” He shrugged, “But that wasn’t Steve’s point. It had more to do with the fact that it was possible, not probable. Then there’s the whole “we could be legally married but aren’t, even though it’s been brought up a couple different times”.”
“I always wondered,” Jensen started slowly. “Why is that?”
“Jen, you know my parents. Mama always claimed that before her and daddy got married that everything was perfect. It was after they said, “I do” that their relationship went to shit.” He smiled sadly, “Steve and I had a good thing. I didn’t think we needed a piece of paper that had the potential to ruin everything.”
“Chris, just because things weren’t good for your parents…”
He raised a hand, “That’s what Steve said but I just couldn’t take the risk.”
Jensen bit down on his reply and stared out of the window.
“Guess I should’ve.”
“Yeah.” He agreed softly.
Chris reached down and grabbed his coffee mug. He took a long drink, before continuing. “I…it’s been a long four months. I just want him back.”
“So the performance at my place, that’s how you’re going to let him know?” He managed to keep the skepticism out of his voice, barely.
“I never said it was a good plan.”
“Ever consider trying to talk to him?”
Chris glanced over and smirked. “It’s pretty much a sure thing once we get back. You really think Steve will let even that little bit of a kiss go without an explanation?”
Jensen shook his head but grinned, “You are one underhanded son of a bitch.”
“All’s fair in love and war, Jen. All’s fair.”
***
“I’m just saying that I don’t understand why we couldn’t stay at Michelle and Jason’s for the night.”
“Sandy.” Scott growled as he stopped walking and turned to look down at her. “I’ve already told you. I’m pretty sure they would like to spend the evening with their son before it’s time for him to go to bed. They haven’t seen him all weekend.”
“They said we were welcome to stay.”
He took a deep breath, “Doesn’t mean they really wanted us there.”
She threw her hands up in the air, totally oblivious to the stares they were starting to attract. “Michelle wouldn’t have offered if she hadn’t meant it.”
He believed her, the problem was that he had been the one looking at Jason’s face when his wife had offered and, although the man wouldn’t contradict her, he wasn’t looking too happy. So Scott had made the decision that it was time for them to leave. Actually, he had made the decision that it was time for him to leave. Sandy, on the other hand, could have stayed, as far as he was concerned.
He had wondered if he was going to end up regretting bringing her along and, if he did, how long it would take; now he knew.
Two days.
Two days of her wandering around the house in nothing but that damned t-shirt and boxer shots. Of her touching him a little more intimately then he liked, of her constant innuendos.
He mentally counted to ten, reminding himself that he was tired, that maybe if he had been getting more restful sleep, then, perhaps she wouldn’t be getting on his nerves so much. He knew that she hadn’t annoyed him this badly even a week ago. Granted, she had kicked up her flirting and parading around practically naked was a little over the top, but really, she wasn’t doing much more than the usual.
He also knew part of it was that he was becoming more and more frustrated with himself. He just wished that he could figure out what was going on in his own head. He was so tired of the brief flashes and feelings, so tired of waking up somewhere other than his bed.
At the ranch it had been bad enough but now he was worried that it was getting dangerous. Friday night he had wakened in the hall outside the guest room he had gone to bed in, Saturday night he had been standing in front of the, luckily, still locked front door. And again, he woke up in nothing but his jeans and clutching his stupid cell. Well, at least even his subconscious mind was ensuring he had his cell. He supposed if he did actually wander anywhere, once he woke up, he could call Sandy to come and get him.
He took a deep breath and forced his voice back to calm. “Look Sandy, if this is going to work,” he waved his hand between them, “you and me traveling together for any length of time, you’re going to have to respect my wishes.”
“Your wishes,” she spluttered, “Since when are you in charge of this road trip?”
“Since you asked to come along. Since you knew what I was leaving for. Since you said that I was the boss.” He growled low.
“Saying you’re the boss is just something people say.” She grumbled back.
“Sandy I have to do this. You don’t. So if you don’t like following my lead then go home.”
Sandy’s eyes widened, “But I want to come with you. I’d worry myself sick if I left you all alone.”
Scott rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, “Then can you please just let me do this my way.”
She peered up at him from under her eyelashes, “Okay.”
“Good.” He muttered and started up the street again. He knew this wasn’t the end of it, that she was pissed that he had left her friend’s house and he had to wonder if that was because she was hoping to delay them a little longer. He wondered if she thought this was just some sort of phase or that he would decide to go back to the ranch if she dragged her feet enough.
He snorted silently. Well, he wasn’t going back to the ranch and this wasn’t some phase. His mind was made up; he was going to keep going until he found something or someone that could lead him back to himself.
“Scott?”
She helped you out when you desperately needed a friend, he reminded himself, as he turned back towards her. “Yes?”
“Where are we going?” Sandy asked softly.
He groaned, “I told you I wanted to go for a beer and Jason said there was a bar that was a fairly decent place a couple blocks up from the hotel.”
“So why couldn’t we go to the lounge in the hotel?” She was still keeping her voice soft but he could detect the whine slowly sneaking into it again.
Because I want a beer that doesn’t cost eight dollars a bottle. Because I want to sit somewhere where I’m not going to feel like I’m being judged because there are holes in the knees of my jeans. He kept that all locked behind his teeth, he knew she wouldn’t get, it, not really. After all, she had already bitched about the hotel only being a three star so telling her that he figured he would be looked down on by people in the lounge would make no sense to her, since she already figured it was a place with low standards to begin with.
“Look,” Scott tried to explain, without saying anything really. “I just wanted to get out, walk a little bit and have a beer or two.”
She shrugged as she turned back up the street, “I’m not sure I get it, but okay.”
Oh, he knew she didn’t get it. He was coming to understand that there were a lot of things specific to this trip that she didn’t get. The worst part was that he knew if she didn’t get a clue soon, he was going to have to explain it to her, straightforwardly, and it was going to hurt her.
Thing was, he didn’t think there was going to be any other way.
***
“So is this where the phone calls were coming from?” Jensen asked, as he and Chris slowly walked down the street towards the “Hole In The Wall” bar they’d noticed when they first rolled into Red Rock.
“You know Jen, you kind of remind me of a little kid. Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Chris grumbled back, “No, we aren’t there yet. I’ll be sure to let you know when we get there.”
Jensen pushed against his temples; trying to stave off the headache he could feel brewing. “Then why did we stop here?”
“Because we’ve been cooped up in the car for the last seven hours,” he muttered back, the implied you’re an idiot easily heard in his tone.
I don’t care! Jensen wanted to scream. Was it so bad to ask that they get to where they were going? Was it really necessary to keep stopping for the night? If Chris would only tell him where they were headed then they could shift off and keep driving, instead of having to stop any time his friend got tired. What did he think he was going to do? Take off and leave him stranded?
He paused mid-stride; actually, he probably would if he thought it would get him closer to Jared any faster. Thing was, he wasn’t sure he felt bad enough about that, figured he should feel worse, but faced with finding Jared, he couldn’t.
“Earth to Jensen.”
He glanced up to see Chris had stopped several feet ahead of him and had turned to look back at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Where are we going?” Jensen implored softly, hoping if he asked nicely Chris would be more willing to share.
Chris groaned, “You’re five. You know that right?”
“You know, if I knew where we are going, I could help with the driving.” He wheedled.
“I changed my mind you’re…” Unexpectedly, he stopped mid-rant and his expression twisted into confusion.
Jensen raised an eyebrow, “Chris, what?”
Chris took two steps towards him before stopping and rubbing a fisted hand across his eyes. Blinking furiously, he uncovered his eyes, and finally Jensen noticed he wasn’t looking at him but at something over his shoulder.
“Well, fuck me!” Chris managed softly.
Jensen tensed as he watched the color drain from his friend’s face and was torn between spinning around to see just what was coming up behind him and ducking for cover, visions of wanted posters that would have passed across Chris’ desk with unknown killers and rapists glaring out of them at the forefront of his mind.
“Chris?”
“I…but…he said.” A hand was hesitantly raised and a shaky finger pointed past him.
Jensen spun around and his body went from hot to cold then back to hot. His knees threatened to buckle and a fine tremor began to work through him.
Jared!
Right there walking towards them, his hair a little longer, his body a little more muscular, and a deep tan shading his skin caramel, but still Jared. The eight months gone and presumed dead, Jared.
“Jared.” He had meant to yell it but there was no breath in his body to back his voice.
But…but Chris said...
After all the silence, after the cryptic phone calls, after the secrecy he couldn’t breach. He would have worried that his sleep deprivation was causing hallucinations of Jared finally, finally, walking towards him, except that he could still hear Chris stuttering behind him. This was real, God let this be real! Jared was walking down the street, talking to a woman he didn’t know, letting her slip her arm through his.
Wait.
What?
Eight months. His husband had been missing for eight months; almost everyone, including his self professed killer, assuming he was dead. Everyone but Jensen and Jared’s mother. And yet here he was walking with some little woman. Was that what had happened? Had Jared decided he didn’t want to be married to a man anymore? Had he decided to jump to the other side of the fence and Chad’s obviously botched murder attempt just a much-needed opportunity?
But what about the phone calls?
Steve and Chris had been partially right; someone had been playing a cruel game, only it had been Jared.
Anger, fuelled by jealousy, flooded his system.
Jensen was going to kill him.
He couldn’t remember moving, just that one-minute he was staring at his husband, walking arm and arm up the street with some woman, and the next minute he had him pushed up against the brick facing of a storefront.
“You son of a bitch!” He snarled into the wide, hazel, eyes looking down at him.
He curled his hands tighter into the material of the light jacket Jared was wearing and pulled him away from the wall, only to slam him back into it again.
“Eight months Jared! Eight fucking months and I find you strolling along with some woman!”
He felt tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, could vaguely hear a woman screaming at him, but all of it meant nothing.
“Everyone thinks you’re dead Jared! Everyone!”
His voice cracked and he swallowed harshly to get it back. “What the hell were the phone calls? Some sick fucking game? You don’t want your family anymore? Don’t want your son? You faked your own death?”
Jared seemed to finally snap out of his stupor and he wrapped his hands around Jensen’s wrists. “Wait.” He begged.
“I will not!” He yelled, “I’ve done nothing but wait for eight months. I’m going to kill you! You son of a…”
His last word was lost to choking, as a strong arm crushed his throat and another circled around his chest.
“Back down, Jensen!” Chris hissed into his ear.
“Let go!” He managed to ground out.
Chris tugged harder, causing him to gag, and he had to release Jared. Against his will, he was dragged back several feet, his friend pulling him along as though he wasn’t struggling at all.
“He doesn’t know who you are!” His friend’s voice rang harshly in his ear.
Jensen blinked, “What?” He coughed out while still glaring at Jared.
“He doesn’t know who you are!” This time the words weren’t coming from Chris and they were definitely feminine.
He turned to stare down at the woman who’d been walking with Jared, at least until he had grabbed his husband. She was now standing between them, her back almost flush with Jared’s chest, and shaking with anger, if her red face was any indication.
“He…Doesn’t…Know…Who…You...Are.” She growled each word slowly and added a stamp of her foot at the end of the last word.
His eyes flickered up to meet Jared’s, “Jared?”
Eight months. Eight months of refusing to accept that his husband was dead until he had Jared’s body laid out in front of him on the coroner’s metal slab. For eight months he had rebuffed every effort his family and friends had made, trying to help him accept the one thing he couldn’t, going on nothing more than a desire to refuse to believe. In cheesy chick flick movies, it would be said it was because he would know if Jared was dead, like there was some cosmic force that would whisper in his ear if, and when, the time came.
It was fanciful and whimsical, and utter bullshit. There had been no grand romantic notion to cling to, only his own deep seated fear that if he admitted that Jared was truly gone, then he would have to face his life without the one person who knew him best, and the idea of spending his life alone, with maybe no one to keep him going, had terrified him.
Looking back now, he could imagine seeing through someone else’s eyes, remembering the questions of where Jared could be, if he was still alive, and his mind going blank, an elusive and never to be found answer choked down by his fear of being left alone. And now, faced with the truth, he felt the hysterical laughter bubbling in his chest, one deep breath away from rushing out. Amnesia. The simplest of explanations, the simplest answer to questions he could never respond to; a Hollywood plot forced into his too real life.
Jesus Christ.
He watched Jared push away from the wall, still too twisted up in the truth of amnesia to do more than wait for him to do something, say something, become his Jared, the Jared who was missing from his husband’s eyes.
“Jared.” Jared mused softly as he gently nudged at the woman’s shoulder to get her to step out of his way.
“What are you doing?” She practically shrieked at him as she forced herself in front of him once again and Jensen silently and grudgingly admitted to admiring someone who was so small, but would still be willing to step between two men who not only towered over her but also outweighed her substantially.
Jared glanced down at her hands pressed against his chest, “They know me, Sandy.”
“So?” She demanded.
Jensen watched a flicker of annoyance flash in Jared’s eyes before he reached down, took Sandy by the wrists, and forced her to back up a step from him. He opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
“You don’t know them.” She pulled one hand from his grasp and gestured back towards him and Chris, “You were attacked and now he was attacking you,” she shot a scathing look over her shoulder at them before lowering her voice enough that Jensen had to strain to hear her. “They could be the same ones from before.”
His mind scrambled to try and understand what she was saying. Had Jared been attacked recently? He didn’t look like he was hurt in any way but she had said attacked.
A cold clarity suddenly settled over him, Jared had been attacked; Jared had amnesia, and didn’t know who his attacker was. She was insinuating that Jensen had been the one to hurt him, to, to…oh fuck no!
“Now listen here, bitch!” He snarled but wasn’t sure that she had heard him over Jared’s own outburst.
“God damn it Sandy, just stop!”
“But you don’t know!”
She was back to trying to push him backwards with her one free hand, the other still trapped in Jared’s grasp.
Faced with Jared and the shock of finding out that he didn’t recognize Jensen, didn’t remember their life together, he had, himself, forgotten that Chris had dragged him off his husband only moments before, and still had him pinned to his chest. It was brought back in painful clarity, as he tried to surge forward and shake the woman for even considering that he was the one who had hurt Jared, until his friend’s arms tightened around his neck and chest once again.
“Hey!”
Chris’ voice was loud in his ear and he wasn’t certain if his friend was snarling at him for fighting him again, or if his indignant shout was directed towards Jared and the woman. Either way, he winced as that single word echoed around his head, setting off small reverberations that would surely end up becoming one hell of a headache soon.
“I’m a cop!” He continued unaware of Jensen’s impending headache. “A detective with the Montrose, Colorado police department and I’m a friend of Jared’s.”
“Says you!” She snarled and flailed as Jared gave her one good push, shoving her aside.
“Shut up!” Jared growled and took a step towards them, apparently, trying to distance himself from her. “A cop?” He asked softly, “You’re a cop and you know me?”
“Yes.” Chris was using his calm, persuasive voice. A tone Jensen recognized as the same one Chris had used on him over the last eight months every time he’d seemed worried that Jensen was going to fly off the deep end.
He shifted in his friend’s tight embrace, “Chris, you can let me go now.”
Jared had been staring past his shoulder to look into Chris’ eyes but he glanced back at Jensen as he spoke.
“Huh?”
He wiggled again and pulled at the forearm still around his neck.
“Oh, right.”
He took his first deep breath as the restrictive band around his chest slid away. “Jared,”
The woman, Sandy, he reminded himself but mentally shied away from the name for no other reason than the surge of jealousy he felt towards her. Jared was his husband, his to touch, to protect, not hers, and the fact that it was looking more and more like she had either replaced him, or was giving it her best shot, caused a spike of rage to surge through him. If she didn’t back off he was going to hit her, regardless of what his momma had taught him about how to treat women. She reached out and grabbed onto Jared’s jacket sleeve, “Scott, just wait, please.”
Scott? Who the hell is Scott? He watched Jared shake off the woman’s hand. Oh, oh.
Jared didn’t know who he was, so it stood to reason he wouldn’t have randomly chosen his real name to go by. After all, what were the odds of him picking it? A million to one? A billion? But still, the name Scott sent a cold shiver through him, Scott wasn’t Jared, and Jared wasn’t Scott. They might share the same body but they weren’t the same person. It didn’t matter that Jensen had found Jared’s body, it was painfully clear that he hadn’t found Jared.
“Jared?” He begged softly. Please tell me you’re in there.
“Scott?” The woman pressed.
He watched Jared look from him to Chris and then to the woman before finally searching out his eyes once more.
“I…”
“Do we have a problem here?”
It would have been comical to watch them all turn, almost as one, towards the voice intruding into their own personal soap opera, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jensen could barely breathe, never mind trying to find any humor in their situation. It was almost like being told that Chad had murdered Jared all over again, the cold numbness that spread quickly throughout his body, while his mind had echoed gone, dead, murdered. Almost like that, only so much worse, looking into eyes that he knew intimately and seeing no recognition whatsoever. Gone, dead, murdered.
There were four of them, town cops, sheriff included, staring at them, sizing them up and he felt the surrealism settle more firmly on his shoulders. Amnesia and now an over weight sheriff and his three eager lackeys.
His life had become a TV movie, a bad TV movie.
“Yes!” The woman broke the silence that had taken hold of all of them as they’d spotted the cops, unwilling, or perhaps unable, to explain the unreal situation they found themselves in.
“That man attacked Scott.” She was hissing and the finger she pointed accusingly at Jensen jerked so badly with her trembling, they could have mistakenly believed she was accusing Chris.
Jensen glanced back in time to see the three eager beavers tense and their hands suddenly came to rest on the butts of their holstered guns. The look in their eyes was a mix of excitement and fear; apparently they rarely dealt with a situation outside of the general small town boredom of the local teens. He stiffened involuntarily. This could go so wrong, so fast.
The only saving grace was that the sheriff didn’t seem all that concerned, at least not yet.
He pinned Jared with his stare, “Is this true?”
“No.”
“Scott!”
Jensen felt the headache that had been threatening crest at her shriek. He narrowed his eyes, didn’t she have a tone that wasn’t shrieking, yelling or hissing?
Jared glanced from her back to the sheriff, “He didn’t attack me.” He held up a hand to forestall the argument they could all see brewing within the woman. “He did, but not, not like that.”
The sheriff raised an eyebrow, “Not like what?”
Jared glanced from him to Jensen and shrugged, “It’s difficult to explain.”
“No, it’s not!” Sandy threw at him, “Scott has amnesia. Someone attacked and raped him. He was in a coma for almost five weeks. He doesn’t remember who did it, but I think these two are suspects. If you were looking for a friend would you attack him right away without provocation?”
“Shut up, Sandy!” Jared hissed.
The sheriff narrowed his eyes and sized up both Jensen and Chris.
Oh yeah, this is going just great.
He and Chris were going to end up behind bars and Jared would end up disappearing again at the woman’s prodding, he just knew it.
“I’m a detective,” Chris broke the tense silence, “with the Montrose, Colorado police department.”
He slowly reached around to his back pocket. He obviously hadn’t missed how hyped up the deputies seemed to be and was just as determined as Jensen not to give them any reason to act out. He pulled out a thin wallet. It had his badge and police ID in it, nothing else. He liked to say it was because he didn’t like mixing his personal life with his professional life, opting instead to carry a second wallet with his more personal identification and home life in it.
Jensen had to swallow an irrational grin, knowing it would be so far out of place in this situation, but he couldn’t help but remember Steve claiming Chris carried two wallets because his ass was lopsided and needed two wallets to balance out his cheeks.
He knew he should be mortified for thinking something so inappropriate, considering the situation, but figured it was probably physiological, something to do with breaking the strain of what was going on. He wasn’t stupid enough to share the thought, so he believed he was still taking everything seriously enough, even if his mind was sliding away.
Or it could be the simple fact that he was sleep deprived. He really wanted to believe it was the latter.
He watched Chris pass his badge over.
“I’m Christian Kane, he’s Jensen Ackles and the other guy,” he nodded towards Jared with his head, “is Jared Padalecki. I don’t know who the lady is.” He admitted apologetically.
But his last name is Ackles-Padalecki same as mine. Jensen thought, but kept his mouth shut. Chris never minced words and if he had a reason for omitting that fact then Jensen would let him, for now.
He watched the sheriff turn to her and raise an eyebrow expectantly, forcing his tired mind to concentrate on his surroundings.
“I’m Sandy, Sandra McCoy.”
So she does know how to speak normally. Jensen thought snidely. He knew it was snidely but he couldn’t help it watching her step forward and push her arm through Jared’s again. He knew if he said anything out loud it would make him look like the jealous wife and he already felt like he was behaving like a woman, but Jared was his, damn it, regardless of whether he remembered it or not.
Jensen turned back as Chris continued on from his earlier words, happy with the distraction. Somehow he didn’t think explaining why he was glaring at Sandy would go over well, not when Chris had already introduced them, omitting that he and Jared were married.
“Jared’s been missing and presumed dead for the past eight months. Hell, we even have a guy in custody awaiting trial, who confessed to murdering him.”
The sheriff passed back Chris’ wallet, “I think we’d better take this party somewhere else.”
***
“Alright boys, take a seat.” The sheriff waved towards a couple of wooden chairs surrounding a small, Formica covered table in the center of the room.
Jensen glanced at Chris, trying to broadcast his confusion before sitting stiffly in one of the chairs. He couldn’t get comfortable and it wasn’t the chair. It wasn’t even the fact that, apparently, the only private room in the building was an interrogation room.
It was because they had separated the four of them as they had walked into the building, taking Jared and that woman one way, and he and Chris another. Sandy, her name was Sandy, and he was going to have to remember to start using it, or risk insulting his husband by calling her that woman. His first instinct was to fight it, to demand that the four of them stay together, the less rational side of his mind whispering frantically that Jared would disappear again if he lost sight of him, but Chris had grabbed his shoulder and forced him to follow the deputy silently.
“Alright, let’s start this again.” The sheriff smiled, in what he probably thought was a genial manner but it did nothing to settle Jensen’s nerves as the man sat on one of the chairs. “My name is Sheriff Petersen, George Petersen.”
He drew a yellow legal pad towards him and pulled a pen from his pocket. “And you said you were Christian Kane?”
Chris nodded, “Detective in Montrose, Colorado.”
“Right.”
He turned to Jensen and narrowed his eyes in thought, “You know your name is pretty unusual. You’d think it would stick in my mind ‘cause of it.”
“Jensen Ackles-Padalecki.”
Sheriff Petersen’s eyebrows rose as he glanced from Jensen to Chris. “Huh, seemed to miss that the first time around.”
Jensen had been expecting a glare from the corner of Chris’ eye, a kick to the shin, something, but he wasn’t going to omit anything at that point. It was obvious to him that Sheriff Petersen was going to be checking their stories. He wasn’t about to do, or omit, something that might keep him away from Jared any longer than was necessary. Apparently, Chris was thinking along the same lines, since his friend didn’t even flinch at the name change.
“Look,” Chris started with a shrug, “what Sandy said is true. Jared was attacked, raped, and left for dead, and now he doesn’t seem to remember anything. I’m not a doctor of any kind and I don’t know what kind of reaction Jared might’ve had to finding out that he’s gay after he’d been attacked by a man.”
Sheriff Petersen sat back in his chair and rubbed his hand across his face. “Well this is…” he glanced at Jensen, “Married, huh?”
This was the first time Jensen had heard Chris’ explanation too, so he had been keen to know what it was and, as much as he hated the reason for the deception, he could understand it.
“Yes.”
“Okay, well there’s a fella in town, good guy, not a psychologist, but a doctor all the same. Once we’re done here I’ll give him a call and get his opinion, or maybe he’ll know someone to call about that, but for now I’ve got a couple more questions.” He leaned forward again and tapped on the legal pad.
“So you two and the other guy,”
“Jared.” Jensen said softly, he couldn’t stand the thought of someone not knowing Jared’s name, especially now that Jared couldn’t correct them himself, at least not with one hundred percent conviction.
Sheriff Petersen seemed to take it in stride, “Right, Jared. The three of you all from Montrose?”
“Yes.” Both of them answered together.
“And the girl?”
Chris shook his head, “We don’t know her.”
“So someone Jared knows then.” He smiled, “I figured that out before, she made it pretty obvious, but I just needed to know if you boys knew her.”
“No.” Jensen couldn’t stop the growl, “Don’t know her at all.”
A small reassuring smile graced Sheriff Petersen’s face but it did nothing to settle Jensen. Instead, it caused his stomach to twist in knots. Obviously the sheriff had been thinking along the same lines that he had. Either there was something going on between Jared and Sandy or she damn well wanted there to be. Somehow, it had been better when he’d managed to almost convince himself that it had been all in his head, just a product of his sleep deprived mind. Almost.
“So, this happened eight months ago?” He made a quick calculation in his head, “So November.”
“Jared left with Chad to drive out to Buffalo, New York, November 13th. Chad wanted Jared to go with him to see his father. Chad and his dad hadn’t really had much to do with each other since his parents divorced back in,” Jensen’s soft voice stuttered to a halt, and he had to close his eyes to try to remember when Chad had first appeared in Richardson, Texas. He thought it was the year he was a junior in high school, “Nineteen ninety four, I think.”
He looked at the sheriff, felt the need to make the man understand that Jared had gone with Chad because he thought they’d been friends, not because his husband was some kind of idiot. “It was only supposed to be a week. Chad was supposed to be a friend. He’d hung out with us for years.”
Sheriff Petersen nodded, “Actually, I think I remember reading about this. This Chad is some kind of nut right? Besides being charged with your husband’s murder, there are also charges for aggravated assault in Texas, aren’t there?”
“He was practicing.” Chris’ voice dripped with disgust, “After he was caught trying to get back to Texas and the story hit the papers, three men, who, uh, bore a resemblance to Jared, came forward, and their stories showed that he’d been working up to this. The last guy before Jared was hospitalized for a week after his run-in with Murray.”
“Okay,” Sheriff Petersen said quietly, “There was a big manhunt for Jared’s,” he glanced at Jensen. “For Jared, but no sign was found.”
“They were looking in the wrong place.” Chris admitted, “Everybody wants missing people found but nobody wants to hear that a massive manhunt is being carried out outside of the route that’s been assumed, or confessed, to having being used.”
The sheriff snorted, “Ain’t that the truth.”
“Chad lied about his route.” Jensen growled, “He always swore that Jared would never be found. He probably hoped that the search would be within the confines of the route he admitted taking. It was.”
“So that takes us through December of last year. How about we discuss the here and now. How did you know to come here to Red Rock, Missouri?”
Chris looked at Jensen and blushed slightly. “Jensen started receiving phone calls about a week ago. Swore they were from Jared but, in truth, I didn’t believe him. I knew someone was calling but there was no name and no number so I traced the calls. They were coming from just outside a small town called Drayton, Kentucky. I figured Jensen and I could take a drive down there and straighten this mess out.”
Jensen wanted to be surprised or hurt that Chris hadn’t believed him anymore than Steve had, but he knew there was no point, not when he’d been dealing with their disbelief for a week now.
“And stopping here?”
“Total coincidence.”
Sheriff Petersen shook his head in wonder, “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Chris shot a look at Jensen, “You and me both.”
***
Part 4
Jensen/Jared slash - NC-17
For a complete list of characters, warnings, disclaimer, summary and author's notes please see Master Post.
Scott shifted on the couch, bringing his legs up and stretching across it.
“I’m such an idiot.” He grumbled to himself as he stared blankly at the TV.
He had known that agreeing to let Sandy come with him had been a mistake from the get go. As if it wasn’t bad enough knowing that she was only coming because she wanted to stay as close to him as possible, now he was stuck helping her baby-sit a precocious three year old so that a couple of her friends could have a romantic weekend getaway.
It was just what he wanted, to be stuck in Red Rock, Missouri for the next two days. Not that the idea of baby-sitting the little boy bothered him, in fact he was kind of enjoying that, although he’d noticed about an hour after they’d gotten there that being around him was causing a longing in him that he couldn’t explain. It was making him wonder if somewhere there was child waiting for his or her daddy to come home or if it was just that suddenly he wanted to have kids. And didn’t that make him sound like a chick?
But still, enjoying being around the little boy or not, it still annoyed him that he was stuck there.
“He’s finally asleep.”
He glanced over as Sandy walked into the room and sighed.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Somehow, he didn’t think that she spent the evenings at home wandering around the house in only a waist length white t-shirt and a pair of girl’s black boxer shorts. And yet there she was, flaunting her body for all it was worth.
Choosing to ignore his desire to demand she explain to him exactly what she thought she was going to accomplish by skipping around the house only half dressed he turned back to the TV. “Well let’s hope little man stays down for the night.”
She grinned at him as she came to a stop in front of him, effectively blocking his vision of anything else but her. “Are you going to share the couch?”
His gaze flickered around the room falling first on the comfy looking armchair and then the matching loveseat. “Sure.” He muttered as he dropped his feet back to the floor and tucked himself into the corner of the couch.
Fortunately she chose the other side of the couch. If she’d sat right beside him, he was pretty certain he would have grabbed his bag and left her behind.
“So, little man, huh?”
He turned away from the TV he was now resolutely feigning interest in, “Pardon?”
“You called Andrew “little man”. It’s cute.”
Scott blinked, “Did I?”
“No, Scott,” she bit back chuckling. “I’m making it up.”
He shrugged, “I didn’t notice.”
“Well, I still think it’s cute.”
He snorted as he turned away again, “Glad you approve.”
Sandy sighed, “What’s crawled up your ass?”
“Nothing.”
“Scott.”
He rolled his eyes before he shifted so that he could face her. “When I agreed to let you come with me, I thought you understood that I wanted to head for Texas right away.”
She stretched out her leg and rubbed his thigh with her foot. “It’s only for a couple days, Scott. If there’s anything waiting in Texas, it will still be there on Monday.”
He ground his teeth together before pulling himself up off the couch. “Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
He threw a glance at her as he started to leave the room, “It’s been a long day. Think I’ll turn in early.”
“It’s only nine thirty.” Sandy relied in dismay.
“Yeah, but I’ve got a headache.”
“I could rub your shoulders.”
Scott turned and shook his head. “Goodnight, Sandy.”
Her bottom lip puffed out, “Night.”
He turned away and groaned under his breath. He had definitely made a mistake in letting Sandy come with him.
***
Jensen suppressed a yawn, pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and stared blankly out of the window ahead of him.
Despite traveling with someone who was supposed to know where Jared was, it seemed like this trip was taking forever. First, they’d had to stop in Burlington the night before; now, granted they had driven for almost eight hours but he couldn’t help but feel that Chris was dragging this out as long as possible. And then, between getting his friend’s sorry ass out of bed, and then his insisting on breakfast, they hadn’t managed to get back on the road until almost 10 am. It was really starting to annoy the hell out of Jensen.
He guessed maybe it wouldn’t be getting to him so much if he’d had managed to get any sleep at all the night before but it had made sense to wait up for Jared’s call before trying to get a couple hours of sleep. It wasn’t a question of worrying that he wouldn’t call, because he was going to call; he had every night for the previous five nights, so why would Jensen think that that would change? Perhaps hiding out in the bathroom had been a little much but he didn’t want have to deal with Chris interrupting his call and maybe scaring Jared off.
Jensen had to wonder now, though, if he would have risked getting a couple hours of shuteye and chanced the cell waking Chris up, as well as himself, if he had known what Jared was going to say.
It had been going the same way as all the calls before, Jared begging to come home and he begging Jared, in turn, to tell him where he was. And then Jared had deviated for the first time in six days.
I want little man.
He felt fear slick his body even now, just thinking about what Jared had said. What was that supposed to mean anyway? He wanted to come home; he said he wanted to come home. But to say that he wanted Nathan, not “I want to see little man”, or “I miss little man”, made it sound like Jared was going to take Nate away from him. The thing was, legally he could. Jensen might be Nate’s adopted daddy but Jared was his biological father and, his disappearing act notwithstanding, it was highly likely the courts would take away Jensen’s adopted parental rights and then he would no longer have any say about his son, his little man.
He pulled his glasses off and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. He needed to find Jared and figure out what the hell was going on because this cryptic shit was going to send him to an early grave.
He shoved his glasses back on his face and stared at the approaching sign.
Welcome to Kansas
Dorothy was from Kansas. His tired mind helpfully supplied.
I wanna come home.
There’s no place like home.
I wanna come home.
There’s no place like home.
An image of Jared wearing a pair of ruby red heels, a Dorothy dress and his hair done up in braids assaulted his mind and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“What?”
“Do…Doro…Dorothy.” Jensen gasped and wiped at the corners of his eyes.
“Dorothy? Who the hell is Dorothy?” Chris grunted, “Dude, what the hell is up with you?”
He managed to suck in a deep breath, “Sorry.”
Jensen had to get himself under control before Chris took him directly to the nearest hospital.
“Ahhh.” He groaned, “Just thinking about Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.”
Chris glanced at him, raised eyebrow included, before turning back to the road. “And that is so fucking funny how?
He considered telling him about the image of Jared in red high heels and then immediately thought better of it. All things considered, the fact was that all he had done over the last week was claim that Jared was calling him, although everyone else believed he was dead, it probably wouldn’t be for the best to talk about seeing him in red heels, even if it was in his imagination. Somehow, he didn’t think Chris would see the connection or find it nearly as funny as he had. Of course, maybe he wouldn’t have found it so funny either if he hadn’t been so sleep deprived.
“Probably nothing,” he couldn’t help the chuckle all the same. “I’m just really tired, so everything seems humorous.”
Chris shot him a look once again before turning back. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Huh?”
He snorted, “Oh come on, Jen. I know you were still awake when I fell asleep last night. No one is that restless when they’re asleep without falling out of bed at least twice a night.”
He shrugged knowing that his friend would catch the movement out of the corner of his eye.
“You were waiting for him to call, weren’t you?”
Jensen turned to stare out the passenger window, “Yes, and before you ask, yes, Jared did call.”
“Did he say anything different this time? Like where exactly we’re going.”
His head snapped around, “I thought you knew where we were going.”
“No. I told you I know the closest town to the cell tower which has been pinpointed as being used by the cell.” He explained patiently, like he was explaining the difference between right and wrong to a small child. “It would make our lives a hell of a lot easier if we had an address instead of having to ask around.”
“Oh.” He forced his tense body to relax back into the seat. He had to get a grip on his temper, had to keep reminding himself that just because Steve and Chris didn’t believe that Jared was still alive, it didn’t mean that they were trying to sabotage his efforts in finding him. In fact, it was a ridiculous notion; he knew that. Now if he could only force his tired mind to believe it.
“So did he say anything different this time?”
I want little man.
He swallowed hard and turned back to stare intensely out the front window. “No.”
If the sudden silence that fell, thick and heavy, in the car was any indication, he hadn’t gotten the lie past Chris but he wasn’t going to explain his fear about Nathan to him, anymore than he was going to explain how his tired mind had connected a “Welcome to Kansas” sign, the Wizard of Oz and Jared in drag as Dorothy.
Still, he had to think of something to say, some way to stop the tension building between them. He was so tired of the constant undertone of anger thrumming between him and his best friends.
“Chris?”
“Yeah?”
This wasn’t going to help ease the tension but he needed to know, if for no other reason than it would give him something else to think about besides Jared.
I want little man.
He shook his head to get the voice out of his mind.
Jensen turned so he could look at Chris, “What’s going on between you and Steve?”
He watched Chris’ hands tighten on the steering wheel and a muscle jump in his jaw. “I would think that was obvious.”
“Not really.”
Chris snorted, “What part of four months and three days ago Steve put most of his shit in storage and moved in with you is not obvious?”
“The part where, if I didn’t know any different, I wouldn’t know that there was anything wrong between the two of you after your behavior at my place yesterday.”
“How about we play road bingo?”
He rolled his eyes, “Kane, I have put up with Steve moping around my house. I have put up with fielding calls from you and letting you know when Steve’s at his restaurant so that you can come see your godson. I have put up with getting glared at every time I mention either of your names to the other. Don’t you think it’s high time I got some sort of explanation about what the hell is up with you two?”
“Well, I don’t know about Steve,” he said quietly. “But with everything you’ve been handling, I figured that you had enough on your plate, without adding our shit.”
Jensen laughed bitterly, “Chris, Steve is living in my house. Your shit was added and mixed in months ago. Just tell me.”
Chris pulled on his bottom lip with his teeth and sighed heavily through his nose. “Steve has never really liked me being a cop.”
“So?” Jensen’s eyes widened, “Wait, are you saying he told you to quit or he’d leave?” It didn’t sound like something Steve would do but then he never would have thought that Jared would disappear for almost a year and then speak so cryptically to him when he finally opened contact between them again.
“No!” Chris shook his head violently. “You know Steve would never do anything like that. It’s just he’s worried about what might happen to me as a cop. It got better once I made detective but the old fears still remained and then, after Jared…”
He glanced over at Jensen.
“After he disappeared...”
“Not what I was gonna say.”
Jensen ran a hand through his hair, “I know what you were going to say but turns out that everybody, including Chad, was wrong about that, weren’t you?”
Chris shut his eyes and the muscle in his jaw jumped again. “Okay.” He muttered and stared hard out at the road ahead of them. “After Jared disappeared, Steve started talking about things that had been bothering him, for awhile apparently, but that he hadn’t bothered to mention to me.”
“Such as?”
“Such as, although by law, common law same sex partners have the same rights as married same sex partners in Colorado, if I died there’s still a chance that Steve could lose everything we worked together for to my parents, if they chose to challenge my will.”
Jensen thought about how his parents had taken it when he had told them that he was gay, about the long days of icy silences and heated arguments. But that had been going on fourteen years ago and he wanted to believe that things had improved past any chance that his parents would be petty enough to try to take everything away from Jared if something happened to him. Not that they could, he and Jared were legally married, but if they were like Chris and Steve? He didn’t think they would but I’m glad they’ll never have a chance.
“Would they?” He pressed Chris softly.
“No.” He shrugged, “But that wasn’t Steve’s point. It had more to do with the fact that it was possible, not probable. Then there’s the whole “we could be legally married but aren’t, even though it’s been brought up a couple different times”.”
“I always wondered,” Jensen started slowly. “Why is that?”
“Jen, you know my parents. Mama always claimed that before her and daddy got married that everything was perfect. It was after they said, “I do” that their relationship went to shit.” He smiled sadly, “Steve and I had a good thing. I didn’t think we needed a piece of paper that had the potential to ruin everything.”
“Chris, just because things weren’t good for your parents…”
He raised a hand, “That’s what Steve said but I just couldn’t take the risk.”
Jensen bit down on his reply and stared out of the window.
“Guess I should’ve.”
“Yeah.” He agreed softly.
Chris reached down and grabbed his coffee mug. He took a long drink, before continuing. “I…it’s been a long four months. I just want him back.”
“So the performance at my place, that’s how you’re going to let him know?” He managed to keep the skepticism out of his voice, barely.
“I never said it was a good plan.”
“Ever consider trying to talk to him?”
Chris glanced over and smirked. “It’s pretty much a sure thing once we get back. You really think Steve will let even that little bit of a kiss go without an explanation?”
Jensen shook his head but grinned, “You are one underhanded son of a bitch.”
“All’s fair in love and war, Jen. All’s fair.”
***
“I’m just saying that I don’t understand why we couldn’t stay at Michelle and Jason’s for the night.”
“Sandy.” Scott growled as he stopped walking and turned to look down at her. “I’ve already told you. I’m pretty sure they would like to spend the evening with their son before it’s time for him to go to bed. They haven’t seen him all weekend.”
“They said we were welcome to stay.”
He took a deep breath, “Doesn’t mean they really wanted us there.”
She threw her hands up in the air, totally oblivious to the stares they were starting to attract. “Michelle wouldn’t have offered if she hadn’t meant it.”
He believed her, the problem was that he had been the one looking at Jason’s face when his wife had offered and, although the man wouldn’t contradict her, he wasn’t looking too happy. So Scott had made the decision that it was time for them to leave. Actually, he had made the decision that it was time for him to leave. Sandy, on the other hand, could have stayed, as far as he was concerned.
He had wondered if he was going to end up regretting bringing her along and, if he did, how long it would take; now he knew.
Two days.
Two days of her wandering around the house in nothing but that damned t-shirt and boxer shots. Of her touching him a little more intimately then he liked, of her constant innuendos.
He mentally counted to ten, reminding himself that he was tired, that maybe if he had been getting more restful sleep, then, perhaps she wouldn’t be getting on his nerves so much. He knew that she hadn’t annoyed him this badly even a week ago. Granted, she had kicked up her flirting and parading around practically naked was a little over the top, but really, she wasn’t doing much more than the usual.
He also knew part of it was that he was becoming more and more frustrated with himself. He just wished that he could figure out what was going on in his own head. He was so tired of the brief flashes and feelings, so tired of waking up somewhere other than his bed.
At the ranch it had been bad enough but now he was worried that it was getting dangerous. Friday night he had wakened in the hall outside the guest room he had gone to bed in, Saturday night he had been standing in front of the, luckily, still locked front door. And again, he woke up in nothing but his jeans and clutching his stupid cell. Well, at least even his subconscious mind was ensuring he had his cell. He supposed if he did actually wander anywhere, once he woke up, he could call Sandy to come and get him.
He took a deep breath and forced his voice back to calm. “Look Sandy, if this is going to work,” he waved his hand between them, “you and me traveling together for any length of time, you’re going to have to respect my wishes.”
“Your wishes,” she spluttered, “Since when are you in charge of this road trip?”
“Since you asked to come along. Since you knew what I was leaving for. Since you said that I was the boss.” He growled low.
“Saying you’re the boss is just something people say.” She grumbled back.
“Sandy I have to do this. You don’t. So if you don’t like following my lead then go home.”
Sandy’s eyes widened, “But I want to come with you. I’d worry myself sick if I left you all alone.”
Scott rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, “Then can you please just let me do this my way.”
She peered up at him from under her eyelashes, “Okay.”
“Good.” He muttered and started up the street again. He knew this wasn’t the end of it, that she was pissed that he had left her friend’s house and he had to wonder if that was because she was hoping to delay them a little longer. He wondered if she thought this was just some sort of phase or that he would decide to go back to the ranch if she dragged her feet enough.
He snorted silently. Well, he wasn’t going back to the ranch and this wasn’t some phase. His mind was made up; he was going to keep going until he found something or someone that could lead him back to himself.
“Scott?”
She helped you out when you desperately needed a friend, he reminded himself, as he turned back towards her. “Yes?”
“Where are we going?” Sandy asked softly.
He groaned, “I told you I wanted to go for a beer and Jason said there was a bar that was a fairly decent place a couple blocks up from the hotel.”
“So why couldn’t we go to the lounge in the hotel?” She was still keeping her voice soft but he could detect the whine slowly sneaking into it again.
Because I want a beer that doesn’t cost eight dollars a bottle. Because I want to sit somewhere where I’m not going to feel like I’m being judged because there are holes in the knees of my jeans. He kept that all locked behind his teeth, he knew she wouldn’t get, it, not really. After all, she had already bitched about the hotel only being a three star so telling her that he figured he would be looked down on by people in the lounge would make no sense to her, since she already figured it was a place with low standards to begin with.
“Look,” Scott tried to explain, without saying anything really. “I just wanted to get out, walk a little bit and have a beer or two.”
She shrugged as she turned back up the street, “I’m not sure I get it, but okay.”
Oh, he knew she didn’t get it. He was coming to understand that there were a lot of things specific to this trip that she didn’t get. The worst part was that he knew if she didn’t get a clue soon, he was going to have to explain it to her, straightforwardly, and it was going to hurt her.
Thing was, he didn’t think there was going to be any other way.
***
“So is this where the phone calls were coming from?” Jensen asked, as he and Chris slowly walked down the street towards the “Hole In The Wall” bar they’d noticed when they first rolled into Red Rock.
“You know Jen, you kind of remind me of a little kid. Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Chris grumbled back, “No, we aren’t there yet. I’ll be sure to let you know when we get there.”
Jensen pushed against his temples; trying to stave off the headache he could feel brewing. “Then why did we stop here?”
“Because we’ve been cooped up in the car for the last seven hours,” he muttered back, the implied you’re an idiot easily heard in his tone.
I don’t care! Jensen wanted to scream. Was it so bad to ask that they get to where they were going? Was it really necessary to keep stopping for the night? If Chris would only tell him where they were headed then they could shift off and keep driving, instead of having to stop any time his friend got tired. What did he think he was going to do? Take off and leave him stranded?
He paused mid-stride; actually, he probably would if he thought it would get him closer to Jared any faster. Thing was, he wasn’t sure he felt bad enough about that, figured he should feel worse, but faced with finding Jared, he couldn’t.
“Earth to Jensen.”
He glanced up to see Chris had stopped several feet ahead of him and had turned to look back at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Where are we going?” Jensen implored softly, hoping if he asked nicely Chris would be more willing to share.
Chris groaned, “You’re five. You know that right?”
“You know, if I knew where we are going, I could help with the driving.” He wheedled.
“I changed my mind you’re…” Unexpectedly, he stopped mid-rant and his expression twisted into confusion.
Jensen raised an eyebrow, “Chris, what?”
Chris took two steps towards him before stopping and rubbing a fisted hand across his eyes. Blinking furiously, he uncovered his eyes, and finally Jensen noticed he wasn’t looking at him but at something over his shoulder.
“Well, fuck me!” Chris managed softly.
Jensen tensed as he watched the color drain from his friend’s face and was torn between spinning around to see just what was coming up behind him and ducking for cover, visions of wanted posters that would have passed across Chris’ desk with unknown killers and rapists glaring out of them at the forefront of his mind.
“Chris?”
“I…but…he said.” A hand was hesitantly raised and a shaky finger pointed past him.
Jensen spun around and his body went from hot to cold then back to hot. His knees threatened to buckle and a fine tremor began to work through him.
Jared!
Right there walking towards them, his hair a little longer, his body a little more muscular, and a deep tan shading his skin caramel, but still Jared. The eight months gone and presumed dead, Jared.
“Jared.” He had meant to yell it but there was no breath in his body to back his voice.
But…but Chris said...
After all the silence, after the cryptic phone calls, after the secrecy he couldn’t breach. He would have worried that his sleep deprivation was causing hallucinations of Jared finally, finally, walking towards him, except that he could still hear Chris stuttering behind him. This was real, God let this be real! Jared was walking down the street, talking to a woman he didn’t know, letting her slip her arm through his.
Wait.
What?
Eight months. His husband had been missing for eight months; almost everyone, including his self professed killer, assuming he was dead. Everyone but Jensen and Jared’s mother. And yet here he was walking with some little woman. Was that what had happened? Had Jared decided he didn’t want to be married to a man anymore? Had he decided to jump to the other side of the fence and Chad’s obviously botched murder attempt just a much-needed opportunity?
But what about the phone calls?
Steve and Chris had been partially right; someone had been playing a cruel game, only it had been Jared.
Anger, fuelled by jealousy, flooded his system.
Jensen was going to kill him.
He couldn’t remember moving, just that one-minute he was staring at his husband, walking arm and arm up the street with some woman, and the next minute he had him pushed up against the brick facing of a storefront.
“You son of a bitch!” He snarled into the wide, hazel, eyes looking down at him.
He curled his hands tighter into the material of the light jacket Jared was wearing and pulled him away from the wall, only to slam him back into it again.
“Eight months Jared! Eight fucking months and I find you strolling along with some woman!”
He felt tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, could vaguely hear a woman screaming at him, but all of it meant nothing.
“Everyone thinks you’re dead Jared! Everyone!”
His voice cracked and he swallowed harshly to get it back. “What the hell were the phone calls? Some sick fucking game? You don’t want your family anymore? Don’t want your son? You faked your own death?”
Jared seemed to finally snap out of his stupor and he wrapped his hands around Jensen’s wrists. “Wait.” He begged.
“I will not!” He yelled, “I’ve done nothing but wait for eight months. I’m going to kill you! You son of a…”
His last word was lost to choking, as a strong arm crushed his throat and another circled around his chest.
“Back down, Jensen!” Chris hissed into his ear.
“Let go!” He managed to ground out.
Chris tugged harder, causing him to gag, and he had to release Jared. Against his will, he was dragged back several feet, his friend pulling him along as though he wasn’t struggling at all.
“He doesn’t know who you are!” His friend’s voice rang harshly in his ear.
Jensen blinked, “What?” He coughed out while still glaring at Jared.
“He doesn’t know who you are!” This time the words weren’t coming from Chris and they were definitely feminine.
He turned to stare down at the woman who’d been walking with Jared, at least until he had grabbed his husband. She was now standing between them, her back almost flush with Jared’s chest, and shaking with anger, if her red face was any indication.
“He…Doesn’t…Know…Who…You...Are.” She growled each word slowly and added a stamp of her foot at the end of the last word.
His eyes flickered up to meet Jared’s, “Jared?”
Eight months. Eight months of refusing to accept that his husband was dead until he had Jared’s body laid out in front of him on the coroner’s metal slab. For eight months he had rebuffed every effort his family and friends had made, trying to help him accept the one thing he couldn’t, going on nothing more than a desire to refuse to believe. In cheesy chick flick movies, it would be said it was because he would know if Jared was dead, like there was some cosmic force that would whisper in his ear if, and when, the time came.
It was fanciful and whimsical, and utter bullshit. There had been no grand romantic notion to cling to, only his own deep seated fear that if he admitted that Jared was truly gone, then he would have to face his life without the one person who knew him best, and the idea of spending his life alone, with maybe no one to keep him going, had terrified him.
Looking back now, he could imagine seeing through someone else’s eyes, remembering the questions of where Jared could be, if he was still alive, and his mind going blank, an elusive and never to be found answer choked down by his fear of being left alone. And now, faced with the truth, he felt the hysterical laughter bubbling in his chest, one deep breath away from rushing out. Amnesia. The simplest of explanations, the simplest answer to questions he could never respond to; a Hollywood plot forced into his too real life.
Jesus Christ.
He watched Jared push away from the wall, still too twisted up in the truth of amnesia to do more than wait for him to do something, say something, become his Jared, the Jared who was missing from his husband’s eyes.
“Jared.” Jared mused softly as he gently nudged at the woman’s shoulder to get her to step out of his way.
“What are you doing?” She practically shrieked at him as she forced herself in front of him once again and Jensen silently and grudgingly admitted to admiring someone who was so small, but would still be willing to step between two men who not only towered over her but also outweighed her substantially.
Jared glanced down at her hands pressed against his chest, “They know me, Sandy.”
“So?” She demanded.
Jensen watched a flicker of annoyance flash in Jared’s eyes before he reached down, took Sandy by the wrists, and forced her to back up a step from him. He opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
“You don’t know them.” She pulled one hand from his grasp and gestured back towards him and Chris, “You were attacked and now he was attacking you,” she shot a scathing look over her shoulder at them before lowering her voice enough that Jensen had to strain to hear her. “They could be the same ones from before.”
His mind scrambled to try and understand what she was saying. Had Jared been attacked recently? He didn’t look like he was hurt in any way but she had said attacked.
A cold clarity suddenly settled over him, Jared had been attacked; Jared had amnesia, and didn’t know who his attacker was. She was insinuating that Jensen had been the one to hurt him, to, to…oh fuck no!
“Now listen here, bitch!” He snarled but wasn’t sure that she had heard him over Jared’s own outburst.
“God damn it Sandy, just stop!”
“But you don’t know!”
She was back to trying to push him backwards with her one free hand, the other still trapped in Jared’s grasp.
Faced with Jared and the shock of finding out that he didn’t recognize Jensen, didn’t remember their life together, he had, himself, forgotten that Chris had dragged him off his husband only moments before, and still had him pinned to his chest. It was brought back in painful clarity, as he tried to surge forward and shake the woman for even considering that he was the one who had hurt Jared, until his friend’s arms tightened around his neck and chest once again.
“Hey!”
Chris’ voice was loud in his ear and he wasn’t certain if his friend was snarling at him for fighting him again, or if his indignant shout was directed towards Jared and the woman. Either way, he winced as that single word echoed around his head, setting off small reverberations that would surely end up becoming one hell of a headache soon.
“I’m a cop!” He continued unaware of Jensen’s impending headache. “A detective with the Montrose, Colorado police department and I’m a friend of Jared’s.”
“Says you!” She snarled and flailed as Jared gave her one good push, shoving her aside.
“Shut up!” Jared growled and took a step towards them, apparently, trying to distance himself from her. “A cop?” He asked softly, “You’re a cop and you know me?”
“Yes.” Chris was using his calm, persuasive voice. A tone Jensen recognized as the same one Chris had used on him over the last eight months every time he’d seemed worried that Jensen was going to fly off the deep end.
He shifted in his friend’s tight embrace, “Chris, you can let me go now.”
Jared had been staring past his shoulder to look into Chris’ eyes but he glanced back at Jensen as he spoke.
“Huh?”
He wiggled again and pulled at the forearm still around his neck.
“Oh, right.”
He took his first deep breath as the restrictive band around his chest slid away. “Jared,”
The woman, Sandy, he reminded himself but mentally shied away from the name for no other reason than the surge of jealousy he felt towards her. Jared was his husband, his to touch, to protect, not hers, and the fact that it was looking more and more like she had either replaced him, or was giving it her best shot, caused a spike of rage to surge through him. If she didn’t back off he was going to hit her, regardless of what his momma had taught him about how to treat women. She reached out and grabbed onto Jared’s jacket sleeve, “Scott, just wait, please.”
Scott? Who the hell is Scott? He watched Jared shake off the woman’s hand. Oh, oh.
Jared didn’t know who he was, so it stood to reason he wouldn’t have randomly chosen his real name to go by. After all, what were the odds of him picking it? A million to one? A billion? But still, the name Scott sent a cold shiver through him, Scott wasn’t Jared, and Jared wasn’t Scott. They might share the same body but they weren’t the same person. It didn’t matter that Jensen had found Jared’s body, it was painfully clear that he hadn’t found Jared.
“Jared?” He begged softly. Please tell me you’re in there.
“Scott?” The woman pressed.
He watched Jared look from him to Chris and then to the woman before finally searching out his eyes once more.
“I…”
“Do we have a problem here?”
It would have been comical to watch them all turn, almost as one, towards the voice intruding into their own personal soap opera, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jensen could barely breathe, never mind trying to find any humor in their situation. It was almost like being told that Chad had murdered Jared all over again, the cold numbness that spread quickly throughout his body, while his mind had echoed gone, dead, murdered. Almost like that, only so much worse, looking into eyes that he knew intimately and seeing no recognition whatsoever. Gone, dead, murdered.
There were four of them, town cops, sheriff included, staring at them, sizing them up and he felt the surrealism settle more firmly on his shoulders. Amnesia and now an over weight sheriff and his three eager lackeys.
His life had become a TV movie, a bad TV movie.
“Yes!” The woman broke the silence that had taken hold of all of them as they’d spotted the cops, unwilling, or perhaps unable, to explain the unreal situation they found themselves in.
“That man attacked Scott.” She was hissing and the finger she pointed accusingly at Jensen jerked so badly with her trembling, they could have mistakenly believed she was accusing Chris.
Jensen glanced back in time to see the three eager beavers tense and their hands suddenly came to rest on the butts of their holstered guns. The look in their eyes was a mix of excitement and fear; apparently they rarely dealt with a situation outside of the general small town boredom of the local teens. He stiffened involuntarily. This could go so wrong, so fast.
The only saving grace was that the sheriff didn’t seem all that concerned, at least not yet.
He pinned Jared with his stare, “Is this true?”
“No.”
“Scott!”
Jensen felt the headache that had been threatening crest at her shriek. He narrowed his eyes, didn’t she have a tone that wasn’t shrieking, yelling or hissing?
Jared glanced from her back to the sheriff, “He didn’t attack me.” He held up a hand to forestall the argument they could all see brewing within the woman. “He did, but not, not like that.”
The sheriff raised an eyebrow, “Not like what?”
Jared glanced from him to Jensen and shrugged, “It’s difficult to explain.”
“No, it’s not!” Sandy threw at him, “Scott has amnesia. Someone attacked and raped him. He was in a coma for almost five weeks. He doesn’t remember who did it, but I think these two are suspects. If you were looking for a friend would you attack him right away without provocation?”
“Shut up, Sandy!” Jared hissed.
The sheriff narrowed his eyes and sized up both Jensen and Chris.
Oh yeah, this is going just great.
He and Chris were going to end up behind bars and Jared would end up disappearing again at the woman’s prodding, he just knew it.
“I’m a detective,” Chris broke the tense silence, “with the Montrose, Colorado police department.”
He slowly reached around to his back pocket. He obviously hadn’t missed how hyped up the deputies seemed to be and was just as determined as Jensen not to give them any reason to act out. He pulled out a thin wallet. It had his badge and police ID in it, nothing else. He liked to say it was because he didn’t like mixing his personal life with his professional life, opting instead to carry a second wallet with his more personal identification and home life in it.
Jensen had to swallow an irrational grin, knowing it would be so far out of place in this situation, but he couldn’t help but remember Steve claiming Chris carried two wallets because his ass was lopsided and needed two wallets to balance out his cheeks.
He knew he should be mortified for thinking something so inappropriate, considering the situation, but figured it was probably physiological, something to do with breaking the strain of what was going on. He wasn’t stupid enough to share the thought, so he believed he was still taking everything seriously enough, even if his mind was sliding away.
Or it could be the simple fact that he was sleep deprived. He really wanted to believe it was the latter.
He watched Chris pass his badge over.
“I’m Christian Kane, he’s Jensen Ackles and the other guy,” he nodded towards Jared with his head, “is Jared Padalecki. I don’t know who the lady is.” He admitted apologetically.
But his last name is Ackles-Padalecki same as mine. Jensen thought, but kept his mouth shut. Chris never minced words and if he had a reason for omitting that fact then Jensen would let him, for now.
He watched the sheriff turn to her and raise an eyebrow expectantly, forcing his tired mind to concentrate on his surroundings.
“I’m Sandy, Sandra McCoy.”
So she does know how to speak normally. Jensen thought snidely. He knew it was snidely but he couldn’t help it watching her step forward and push her arm through Jared’s again. He knew if he said anything out loud it would make him look like the jealous wife and he already felt like he was behaving like a woman, but Jared was his, damn it, regardless of whether he remembered it or not.
Jensen turned back as Chris continued on from his earlier words, happy with the distraction. Somehow he didn’t think explaining why he was glaring at Sandy would go over well, not when Chris had already introduced them, omitting that he and Jared were married.
“Jared’s been missing and presumed dead for the past eight months. Hell, we even have a guy in custody awaiting trial, who confessed to murdering him.”
The sheriff passed back Chris’ wallet, “I think we’d better take this party somewhere else.”
***
“Alright boys, take a seat.” The sheriff waved towards a couple of wooden chairs surrounding a small, Formica covered table in the center of the room.
Jensen glanced at Chris, trying to broadcast his confusion before sitting stiffly in one of the chairs. He couldn’t get comfortable and it wasn’t the chair. It wasn’t even the fact that, apparently, the only private room in the building was an interrogation room.
It was because they had separated the four of them as they had walked into the building, taking Jared and that woman one way, and he and Chris another. Sandy, her name was Sandy, and he was going to have to remember to start using it, or risk insulting his husband by calling her that woman. His first instinct was to fight it, to demand that the four of them stay together, the less rational side of his mind whispering frantically that Jared would disappear again if he lost sight of him, but Chris had grabbed his shoulder and forced him to follow the deputy silently.
“Alright, let’s start this again.” The sheriff smiled, in what he probably thought was a genial manner but it did nothing to settle Jensen’s nerves as the man sat on one of the chairs. “My name is Sheriff Petersen, George Petersen.”
He drew a yellow legal pad towards him and pulled a pen from his pocket. “And you said you were Christian Kane?”
Chris nodded, “Detective in Montrose, Colorado.”
“Right.”
He turned to Jensen and narrowed his eyes in thought, “You know your name is pretty unusual. You’d think it would stick in my mind ‘cause of it.”
“Jensen Ackles-Padalecki.”
Sheriff Petersen’s eyebrows rose as he glanced from Jensen to Chris. “Huh, seemed to miss that the first time around.”
Jensen had been expecting a glare from the corner of Chris’ eye, a kick to the shin, something, but he wasn’t going to omit anything at that point. It was obvious to him that Sheriff Petersen was going to be checking their stories. He wasn’t about to do, or omit, something that might keep him away from Jared any longer than was necessary. Apparently, Chris was thinking along the same lines, since his friend didn’t even flinch at the name change.
“Look,” Chris started with a shrug, “what Sandy said is true. Jared was attacked, raped, and left for dead, and now he doesn’t seem to remember anything. I’m not a doctor of any kind and I don’t know what kind of reaction Jared might’ve had to finding out that he’s gay after he’d been attacked by a man.”
Sheriff Petersen sat back in his chair and rubbed his hand across his face. “Well this is…” he glanced at Jensen, “Married, huh?”
This was the first time Jensen had heard Chris’ explanation too, so he had been keen to know what it was and, as much as he hated the reason for the deception, he could understand it.
“Yes.”
“Okay, well there’s a fella in town, good guy, not a psychologist, but a doctor all the same. Once we’re done here I’ll give him a call and get his opinion, or maybe he’ll know someone to call about that, but for now I’ve got a couple more questions.” He leaned forward again and tapped on the legal pad.
“So you two and the other guy,”
“Jared.” Jensen said softly, he couldn’t stand the thought of someone not knowing Jared’s name, especially now that Jared couldn’t correct them himself, at least not with one hundred percent conviction.
Sheriff Petersen seemed to take it in stride, “Right, Jared. The three of you all from Montrose?”
“Yes.” Both of them answered together.
“And the girl?”
Chris shook his head, “We don’t know her.”
“So someone Jared knows then.” He smiled, “I figured that out before, she made it pretty obvious, but I just needed to know if you boys knew her.”
“No.” Jensen couldn’t stop the growl, “Don’t know her at all.”
A small reassuring smile graced Sheriff Petersen’s face but it did nothing to settle Jensen. Instead, it caused his stomach to twist in knots. Obviously the sheriff had been thinking along the same lines that he had. Either there was something going on between Jared and Sandy or she damn well wanted there to be. Somehow, it had been better when he’d managed to almost convince himself that it had been all in his head, just a product of his sleep deprived mind. Almost.
“So, this happened eight months ago?” He made a quick calculation in his head, “So November.”
“Jared left with Chad to drive out to Buffalo, New York, November 13th. Chad wanted Jared to go with him to see his father. Chad and his dad hadn’t really had much to do with each other since his parents divorced back in,” Jensen’s soft voice stuttered to a halt, and he had to close his eyes to try to remember when Chad had first appeared in Richardson, Texas. He thought it was the year he was a junior in high school, “Nineteen ninety four, I think.”
He looked at the sheriff, felt the need to make the man understand that Jared had gone with Chad because he thought they’d been friends, not because his husband was some kind of idiot. “It was only supposed to be a week. Chad was supposed to be a friend. He’d hung out with us for years.”
Sheriff Petersen nodded, “Actually, I think I remember reading about this. This Chad is some kind of nut right? Besides being charged with your husband’s murder, there are also charges for aggravated assault in Texas, aren’t there?”
“He was practicing.” Chris’ voice dripped with disgust, “After he was caught trying to get back to Texas and the story hit the papers, three men, who, uh, bore a resemblance to Jared, came forward, and their stories showed that he’d been working up to this. The last guy before Jared was hospitalized for a week after his run-in with Murray.”
“Okay,” Sheriff Petersen said quietly, “There was a big manhunt for Jared’s,” he glanced at Jensen. “For Jared, but no sign was found.”
“They were looking in the wrong place.” Chris admitted, “Everybody wants missing people found but nobody wants to hear that a massive manhunt is being carried out outside of the route that’s been assumed, or confessed, to having being used.”
The sheriff snorted, “Ain’t that the truth.”
“Chad lied about his route.” Jensen growled, “He always swore that Jared would never be found. He probably hoped that the search would be within the confines of the route he admitted taking. It was.”
“So that takes us through December of last year. How about we discuss the here and now. How did you know to come here to Red Rock, Missouri?”
Chris looked at Jensen and blushed slightly. “Jensen started receiving phone calls about a week ago. Swore they were from Jared but, in truth, I didn’t believe him. I knew someone was calling but there was no name and no number so I traced the calls. They were coming from just outside a small town called Drayton, Kentucky. I figured Jensen and I could take a drive down there and straighten this mess out.”
Jensen wanted to be surprised or hurt that Chris hadn’t believed him anymore than Steve had, but he knew there was no point, not when he’d been dealing with their disbelief for a week now.
“And stopping here?”
“Total coincidence.”
Sheriff Petersen shook his head in wonder, “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Chris shot a look at Jensen, “You and me both.”
***
Part 4