Find my Way to your Heart 1/1
Title: Find my Way to your Heart
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Word Count: ~8200
Rating/Warnings: NC-17 for sexual situations, MPREG
A/N: This is the sequel to Rest Your Head, I’m Permanent which was a gift for fatebegins who had made a manip of a tattooed Jensen holding a baby.
Summary: When Jared plans a surprise for Jensen, his husband of nearly three years, he doesn’t realize what all he is getting himself into at all…not that Jensen minds of course…
Jensen woke, trying to snuggle back down into the bed to catch a few more hours of sleep. He felt his daughter move and he reached to pull her closer. He assumed she had just woken him as she turned in her sleep. With a sigh, he buried his head into her curly hair and started to drift off to sleep. He was woken again…this time realizing it was a noise in the other room startling him from sleep. He also realized that Jared wasn’t beside him anymore.
Jensen sat up a little in bed and looked around. The noise echoed through the hallway again, prompting him to climb out of bed. He pushed the pillows down farther so that Clary wouldn’t roll over and off the bed. The little girl had bunked with them sometime in the middle of the night after a nightmare. Once he was sure she would be fine for a few minutes, he headed down the hallway. The noise came again, and he could tell it was echoing through from the bathroom. As he approached, it became obvious it was the sound of retching.
Jensen gently pushed open the door, revealing Jared curled around the toilet. “Jay?” he said softly.
“Mmmm,” Jared groaned as he leaned up to flush everything away. “S’rry…wake you?”
“Don’t be.” Jensen grabbed a cup from the sink and filled it with water before he knelt down beside his husband, pulling him close until Jared was resting against his chest. He could feel Jared trembling from the exertion of everything. “How long you been sick?”
“Not sick,” Jared replied, borderline petulantly. He took the cup and swished the water around in his mouth to rid the aftertaste from his bout of sickness. He leaned forward and spit the water into the toilet. He fell back against Jensen afterwards.
Jensen checked Jared’s forehead for a fever, not completely believing the younger man.
“I’m fine Jen,” Jared said a little stronger.
“If you’re fine why are you throwing up? Last I checked you only do that when you are sick or…oh…are you…God Jay! Are you pregnant again?”
“No!” Jared answered quickly. He’d had a scare not too long ago that he hadn’t mentioned to Jensen just yet. Now that Clary was going on three, Jared knew Jensen was going to start to bring it up more. He just wasn’t sure he could juggle another baby on top of everything else. Between taking care of a toddler, working through his degrees, and doing his practicum through Sam’s center, he was busy enough.
“Then why are you throwing up at five in the morning?”
“You can throw up from nerves…”
“You have that big test,” Jensen sighed with realization.
“Yeah.” But that wasn’t really what was making Jared so nervous that he was throwing up. What he had planned for after his test was what was making him sick with anticipation.
“You’ll be fine, babe. Its just JD…”
“And he does hard tests…this one will pretty much decide if I pass his course. If I pass his coarse, then I’ll get my masters this Dec.”
“And if not you can-“
“I’ve already planned on it, Jen. I can’t screw up.”
“You never do, babe.” Jen pressed a kiss to the side of his. “You’ll be fine.”
“Daddy sick?” Clary said from the door before Jared could continue. She was in her ladybug footed pajamas. Her stuffed moose, the same one Jeff had bought before she was born, was hanging limply in one hand while the other rubbed at her eyes. Her messy curls bounced as she moved. They looked a lot like Jared’s did at the moment.
“I’m fine baby,” Jared answered, motioning for her to come to him. She stumbled towards him and fell into his chest. He hugged her close, kissing her on her forehead. “How’d you get out of our big bed on your own?”
“Nala helped!” She held up her moose proudly, causing Jared to chuckle. Aidan had named the toy before Clary could even speak. He had decided the toy needed to bear the name of his Simba’s best friend since Clary was his. He’d been enamored with Clary since she was born, often playing with her instead of his big brothers. Given Aidan’s developmental delay, the two were very similar despite the age difference. They were quite the pair, each more than patient with the other.
“Did she now?” Jensen went on. He ran his hand over the little moose’s head. “She must be growing big and strong, huh?”
“Uh huh,” she yawned in reply.
“How about you go back to sleep in our bed for a little while sweetheart?” Jared suggested. He stood, holding Clary in his arms. He prayed his nerves would settle long enough for him to take her into the bedroom again.
“Will Papa come too? Nala gets scared…”
Jensen smiled at his daughter. “You bet Clary…Poppa will come back to bed with you.”
“Daddy too?” She turned big puppy dog eyes onto Jared. Now he knew exactly how his parents had felt with him as a child. One of these days he’d have to get around to apologizing to them for that.
“Just for a little while. Daddy’s got school.”
“Ok,” she sighed sleepily. She leaned her head against Jared’s shoulder. Her hair tickled the underside of his chin, but he didn’t dare move her from her place. She was already mostly asleep and he didn’t want to wake her. She could stand to sleep another hour or two.
By the time they reached the bedroom, Clary was already asleep. Jared slid her under the covers while Jensen climbed in on the other side. Jared slid in behind Clary across from Jensen. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself. He felt Jensen’s hand run over his hair.
“You sure you’re ok, Jay?” Jensen asked very softly so as not to wake their daughter.
“I’ll be fine. It’s just nerves. I’m not sick…and I’m not pregnant.”
Jensen bit his lip for a moment. “You…you know it would be ok.”
“What?” Jared said, meeting Jensen’s eyes. He reached up and took Jensen’s hand in his own, running his fingers over the compass tattooed across the back of it.
“If you were…you know…pregnant.”
Jared smiled slightly. “Thanks.” He kissed Jensen’s hand. “I do want another baby…just not sure when.”
“Whenever you’re ready. In the meantime, we can keep practicing.”
“I like the sound of that,” Jared replied with a small smirk. He went to lean in for a real kiss when Clary moved ever so slightly. “Maybe the munchkin can get some sleep in her own bed tonight and we can.”
“Yeah…what’s all her nightmares about anyway?”
“She watched the original Toy Story and is now having nightmares that Sid is going to come destroy Nala.”
“Sid? He’s the little bastard of a neighbor right?”
“Yep…”
“So she’s afraid of him but not Scar from Lion King and Rattigan from Great Mouse Detective?”
“Hey, those are the best…kid’s got taste.”
“That’s because she is in love with your two favorite Disney movies.”
Jared smiled a little and ran his hair gently through Clary’s hair. She really was a good mix of her daddies. She tended to favor Jared more in looks, but her personality was a good combination of them both. She was curious and creative like Jensen, yet already showed signs of intelligence like Jared.
“When do you have to get up, Jay?”
Jared pushed up in bed and glanced towards the clock. It was going towards six and his test was at eight o’clock sharp. “Probably should get up soon,” he sighed. “Is Ellie going to take Clary to the center for me later?”
“Yeah…she’s going to drop her off with Aidan. You said Sam didn’t mind right?”
“Not at all. Clary is good for Aidan. She helps him open up and socialize a lot more. Sam loves her with the other kids too. So she’s fine.” Jared looked down at his daughter once more. “Hard not to love her.”
“Damn straight,” Jensen said proudly. “We did good…”
“Yeah…not bad at all. Maybe next time we can not get me knocked up in a closet though. I seriously don’t want to lie to two kids about that you know.”
“Yeah…not sure they’d like that too much.”
“Probably not.” Jared leaned down and kissed Clary on her forehead. “Alright…I better shower and get ready to head out.”
“Want me to get up and make you breakfast?”
“Nah…not sure my stomach could handle it. Get some more sleep with our girl.”
“Alright…come here though.” Jared walked around to the other side of the bed. Jensen pulled him down and passionately kissed him on the mouth. “Good luck. I’ll see you when I get home from my meeting. It will probably be late. The girl can’t squeeze in the consultation until after her shop closes.”
“It’s ok. I’ll see you tonight. Maybe we can get some more…practice…in then.”
“Did I ever tell you how smart you were?”
Jared rolled his eyes but gave Jensen another kiss before heading towards the shower. He quickly took off his sweatpants and t-shirt. He gently ran his fingers over his bare chest for a moment and the nauseous feeling returned to his stomach. It wouldn’t be much longer…
**************
“I can’t believe you are actually doing this,” Jeff said in awe as he walked with Jared. “I mean…just…it’s you and you don’t…”
“You’re not helping here, Jeff,” Jared sighed. The two continued to walk down the sidewalk as leaves fell from the nearby trees. “Why did I bother asking you here?”
“Aww…because I’m your awesome big brother.” Jeff grabbed Jared and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “And there is no way in hell you’d do this by yourself. Why isn’t Jensen here?”
“It’s a surprise. He doesn’t know I’m doing this.”
Jeff nodded. “He’ll love it you know…”
“Oh I know. He’s been teasing me about it for awhile.”
“I bet,” Jeff huffed.
They reached their destination a few moments later. Jared just stared up at the sign on the building for a second, trying to calm himself before stepping inside. The sound of buzzing and humming hit Jared hard and he had to fight to stand still. It wasn’t like he’d never been inside the place; it was just never like this.
“Jared!” Misha yelled from across the room.
“H-hi,” Jared stuttered in reply.
“I’ll be ready for your appointment in just a minute. Just let me finish this guy here up.” Misha pointed back and forth between the guy in his seat and Jared. Jared’s eyes were glued to the instrument in his hand…the tattoo needle.
“Shit,” he mumbled. He turned away and tried to catch his breath and calm his nerves.
“Hey,” Jeff said softly, squeezing Jared’s shoulder. “You’re ok, bub. You want to do this. It’s ok. I’ll be there the whole time. Just keep picturing Jensen’s face when he sees the end product. You know he has always been curious how you’d look in tats. It’s ok. You’ll be fine.” Jeff rubbed soothing circles up and down Jared’s back, knowing now was not the time to tease his baby brother over his fear of needles.
Jared nodded, trying to focus on Jeff’s words and the hand on his shoulder. He wanted this. He’d been planning on this for months; putting it off any longer wouldn’t work and he knew that.
“One tat,” Jared replied softly. “Just want to do this once.”
“Whatever you want, kid,” Jeff added. “Come on…Misha’s ready for you.”
“A-already?”
“Yeah…come on.” Jeff squeezed Jared’s shoulder one last time and guided towards the padded chair Misha had motioned for them to go over to. Jared had been too busy freaking out to notice.
“Hey Jay…was beginning to think I’d never get you in my chair,” Misha joked, trying to help break the tension. Misha adored Jared, having met him when he was pregnant with Clary and Jensen had come in for a touch up on some of his ink. But he knew how much Jared hated needles so he never really expected this. “I take it Jenny finally corrupted you, huh?”
“H-he doesn’t know y-yet. Want to surprise him.”
“Cool…he’s going to flip over this, man.” Misha squeezed Jared shoulder as he reached over for his sketch. “So this is what I came up with for you. It’s almost the exact same as Jensen’s, but it is a little more on the old fashioned side, not by much though. And I put the phrase under it like you wanted. I got the Latin right, didn’t I? Been awhile since I’ve taken a course.”
Jared took the sketch from Misha’s hand and just stared at it in awe for a moment. Misha had sketched out a compass almost identical to the one Jensen’s had inked onto the back of his hand. It had always been one of Jared’s favorites. He read the Latin inscription underneath…duce te cor meum. “You guide my heart…exactly what I wanted. It’s perfect Misha.”
“Awesome! Well, let me get this fixed up so I can transfer it onto you and go from there, buddy. Just sit tight and try to relax. Go ahead and strip off your hoodie and any shirts you have on underneath. You’ll be fine.”
“You holding up ok?” Jeff asked as Misha went to go gather up his supplies.
“I think if I keep my eyes shut during it I’ll be ok. Wish there was a way I could not hear too…”
“You got your iPod on you?”
Jared nodded. “It’s in my hoodie.”
Jeff grabbed the article of clothing and dug out the device. He sorted through songs for a minute until he came upon the ones he wanted. “Here.” He stuck the earbuds into his brother’s ear and hit play. Jared’s ears were soon filled with Jensen’s voice; Jeff had found the few songs Jensen had recorded with Chris on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
“Thanks,” Jared sighed. He focused on his husbands voice as Misha came over with his gear. Misha disinfected Jared’s chest and started the needle. Jared continued to concentrate on the hum of the melody rather than the hum of the needle. He closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see it come near him.
He jumped a little as Misha touched his shoulder, but he managed to not move once the tattooing began. Misha worked quickly while Jared listened to the music on a loop. His ears hurt from the higher volume, but it helped block out everything else.
Misha looked up to Jeff with a smile a couple of hours later. Jared hadn’t opened his eyes once, too busy trying not to think about the needle stabbing into his chest. Misha turned off the needle and gently pulled an earbud out of Jared’s ear.
“You know, to be petrified of needles, you have been the easiest client I think I’ve ever had,” Misha laughed. He grabbed a rag and started to clean Jared up. He pushed the needle far enough away so that Jared wouldn’t see it.
“I-is…is it over?” Jared asked. His eyes were watery from the pain in his chest and his nerves were still a little shot. Yet he was excited to see what Misha had created for him.
“Yep…all done, man,” Misha replied with a wink. “You feel like standing up? I’ll walk you over to the mirror then I’ll put the bandage over it.”
Jared nodded and allowed his brother and Misha to help him up from the chair. His chest burned as he sat forward, but it was manageable.
“Chest tats tend to hurt, Jay,” Misha explained. “The skin is thin over the muscles and the bones so if it gets too much, just say so and we’ll pause and let you sit for a few minutes. I know this is your first one and all.”
“Misha,” Jared sighed, “go have a kid and we’ll talk about pain, man…”
Jeff bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as he helped Jared over to the mirror. “He’s got a point, Mish,” Jeff said. “No pain meds either…”
“Shit, forgot about that,” Misha replied. “No idea why you’d go the natural route when you got the good shit waiting on you.”
“Didn’t want a needle in my back…”
“But you’ll put up with one repeatedly jabbing you in the chest for a tattoo?” Jeff huffed.
“Never said it was logical,” Jared replied as he stepped up to the mirror. His eyes settled on the tattoo. Misha had captured the old fashion design of a compass, silver and black ink spreading across his muscular chest. North was pointed towards his heart and the script like letters of his quote sprawled out underneath it. “Wow…”
“Think it is safe to say that it is one of my best,” Misha continued with a smile. “Jen will love it, dude.”
“Yeah,” Jared answered, still in awe. He never considered having a tattoo, not until he had met Jensen at least. Now, he was glad he did it. He still didn’t want to think of what his mom would say if or when she saw it…but he was happy with it.
“Alright, come here then so I can put this over it and get you ready to go.”
“Sounds good,” Jared sighed. “I’ve got work soon anyway.”
Misha grabbed the bandage, pressed it over the area, and taped it down onto Jared’s skin. “Keep it covered until you leave work at least, that way the kids aren’t accidentally touching it. Make sure you wear baggy shirts for a few days and see if you can’t keep the kids’ hands off of it. It will take a little while to heal and it is open to infections. Jen will know the drill.”
“Thanks, man.” Jared reached out his hand to shake Misha’s, but the other man pulled him into a hug. Jared smiled and hugged him back.
“You did good, Jay. Call me when you want you next one.”
“Don’t think that will happen…but you know I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
“Better not,” Misha replied with fake sternness. He finished putting Jared’s bandage on and grabbed his shirt. “There ya go, man.”
Jared carefully slid his shirt on over his head and chest. It was loose enough so that it wouldn’t rub painfully, but he was worried the v-neck of the polo getting tugged on by the kids and rubbing. He’d have to just be careful.
“Thanks again, Misha.”
“Better let me know what Jen thinks of it!”
Jeff laughed and clapped Mish on the shoulder. “They will. See ya ‘round.” With that, Jeff took Jared out to the car to head to work. “You want me to drive you to work? It isn’t that far from the hospital and I’ve got the time.”
“You just want to drive my car…”
“Shut up,” Jeff huffed, even if it was true. Jeff knew Jared was going to sell him his older car as soon as he could get a new one for himself. But for now, Jeff was still stuck bumming rides from friends and Katie.
Jared handed over the keys and let Jeff drive him to Sam’s center for work. He arrived a little early but headed in nonetheless. “Hey Sam,” he yelled with a wave as he entered his office. She always allowed her workers to stash their coats and other belongings in there so the kids couldn’t get into them.
“You’re early, kiddo,” Sam said, looking up from her paperwork.
“Um…yeah,” Jared shrugged. “I had an appointment earlier but it ended up taking less time than I had expected.”
“Appointment? Everything ok? You pregnant on me again, boy?”
“No!” He was starting to get tired of people asking him that. First Jensen and now Sam! “I swung by Misha’s shop,” he sighed.
“That tattoo shop?”
“Yeah…”
“Oh my God!” Sam shrieked. “You actually did it!” She stood from her chair and ran over towards him. “What did you get? Have you told Jensen yet? Did-“
“Slow down, Sam,” Jared laughed. “I got a compass on my chest. It’s bandaged right now, but I’ll show you before I leave, ok?”
“You better! Oh…before I forget, Ellie brought Aidan in but said Jen’s meeting got cancelled so he kept Clary at home with him for the day.”
“Ok…thanks for letting me know.”
“Of course. Now go out there and get to work! I’m not paying for you to stand around my office.” She winked at him and shooed him out of her office.
Jared rolled his eyes but smiled at her nonetheless before heading out to be with the kids. The rest of the day went by in a blur of behavior therapy, lessons, and play times. A few of the younger children were especially clingy. They hung from his neck and grabbed at his shirt, often rubbing against his healing tattoo. The bandage ended up come off a little around the edges thanks to them, but he didn’t think it was too big of a deal.
But by the end of his shift, he was definitely happy to be headed back home. He was sore and exhausted. All he wanted to do was crawl in bed with Jensen and show his husband his surprise.
Jared pulled into the driveway that led to the large guesthouse in which Jensen and he still dwelled. By now, they could easily afford to move out to a house of their own, but neither felt like moving farther away from Jensen’s brother and family. They enjoyed the living arrangement and the house was definitely large enough for them, even if they did ever have another child.
Jared climbed out of his car, thankful that his seatbelt was off so that it would no longer rub against his chest. It felt sore and already hinted at the itchiness that Misha had warned about.
He opened the door to their house and was hit by music. The tune was familiar and he smiled in anticipation of what was no doubt awaiting him in the kitchen. He slid off his hoodie and let it fall against the back of the couch for now.
When he stepped into the kitchen, he was not disappointed...
Jensen had food cooking on the stove and music blaring from his iPod dock. Clary was giggling in his arms as he danced around the room, dipping her exaggeratedly while he sang.
“This thing...called love...I just can't handle it! This thing…called love…I must get round to it! I ain’t ready! Crazy little thing called love!" Jensen belted out the familiar song with gusto, making Clary laugh all the more. She tried to sing along, but she flubbed over the words in her excitement.
Jared smiled at the scene as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Daddy!" Clary squealed, spotting him as Jensen dipped her once again.
"Hey baby girl," Jared replied. He walked over to the two of them to take Clary from Jensen's arms. "What are you up to?"
"Daddy's teaching me to be a Queen!"
Jared bit his lip to stop from laughing.
"No," Jensen interrupted. "I'm teaching you to sing like 'Queen' sweetheart." Jensen kissed on the cheek and smoothed down her unruly curls.
"That's what I meant! Poppa's teaching me to sing like those guys!"
"Wow!" Jared kissed her as well. "Why don't you take a break from rock star lessons and go wash up for dinner, Clary?"
"Ok," Clary answered before she began to squirm. Jared set her down onto the ground and she hurried off to wash her hands like he had taught her.
Once she was around the corner he felt Jensen's arm worm their way around his waist. The song changed to “We will Rock You” in the background. Jared leaned against his husband, enjoying their moment alone. Freddie Mercury's voice continued to fill the kitchen.
"You know you are corrupting our toddler right?" Jared teased.
"Nah…kid just has good taste in music. Besides, Dad introduced me to them when I was little and look how I turned out!" Jared raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Fine...at least I wasn't playing one like ‘Radio Ga Ga’ or..."
Jared laughed and turned to kiss Jensen. "Or Don't Stop Me Now..."
"I wouldn't dream of stopping, you know." Jensen smirked, moving his hand from Jared's waist towards his ass and pressing him close. He leaned down and kissed Jared's neck.
"Mmmm," Jared moaned at the sensation but pushed away. "Better slow it down Loverboy..."
"Ha! Knew you were a fan of Queen!"
"You caught me," Jared sighed. "But Clary will be back soon..."
Jensen pouted. "But...The Show Must Go On," he sung, the iPod having changed songs again.
Jared laughed at the timing. He could hear Clary coming back down the hall. "After dinner...have a surprise for you anyway."
Clary entered the room and started singing along again before Jensen could ask for more details. Instead he went about preparing his daughter a plate.
**************
Jared fell on the bed with a groan. He was exhausted. Clary hadn’t wanted to go to sleep in her own bed and it had taken awhile to persuade her to try it at least. Jensen was still in there, making sure she was going to stay in there before he finished through with his plans from earlier.
After a few minutes, Jared heard the door click shut and felt the bed dip next to him. Jensen’s hand settled on his polo-clad stomach, rubbing at the muscles underneath. “Hey,” Jensen said, nuzzling at Jared’s neck.
“Hey yourself.” Jared turned so that he was facing Jensen and kissed him on the forehead.
“So…can I have my surprise now?” Jensen sent him a little smile, one that Jared couldn’t help but find absolutely adorable.
“Maybe…”
Jensen pouted and started kissing at Jared’s neck, sucking and nipping in all the right ways.
“Ok…ok,” Jared laughed. He moved so that he was sitting up a little more. “I…um…well…shit. I guess I’ll just show you.” His hand shook with nerves a little as he pulled his work shirt off and over his head, revealing his new tattoo. Jensen gasped at the sight. “What do you think?”
“Oh my God! Is it a stick on or something?”
Jared glared and playfully slapped Jen on the arm. “Shut up…”
Jensen couldn’t quit smiling and finally traced the edges of the compass tattoo with his fingers. “This is incredible. I can’t believe…you put up with the needle for this?”
“Wanted it. It’s…it’s for you. Misha made it really close to the one on your hand.” Jared took his husband’s hand in his and ran his finger over it. “I wanted something to represent us. After everything…you know…you didn’t have to stick with me and you did.”
“You never had to with me either and you did.”
“It’s just-“
“I know, Jay,” Jensen said with a smile. He pushed up and kissed Jared on the lips. Jared pushed up into Jensen’s mouth as he hands moved up and down Jensen’s arms. Jensen pushed back and settled against him. “Mmm…”
Jared tugged on Jensen’s shirt until he finally got the hint and took it off. Their bare chests collided, sending heat through each other. They rubbed up against each other. Jensen’s hand settled at Jared’s sweatpants covered crouch. He toyed with the material at the waistband and started to slowly push under.
About that time, their door crashed open. The two pulled apart quickly, nearly falling off the bed in their haste. They looked up to see their little girl toddling inside their room with tear tracks down her face and her moose held tightly against his chest.
“Baby?” Jensen sighed softly. “What’s wrong?”
Jared leaned over the bed and picked up Clary so he could set her in between the two of them. “Another nightmare, Clary?”
She nodded as she burrowed into her poppa’s side. “Sid took Nala again.” She hugged her moose to her chest as a few more tears leaked out.
“Aww…I’m sorry baby,” Jared sighed. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and pulled the blanket over top them. He looked over to Jensen and sent him an apologetic look. He mouthed the word ‘tomorrow’ and Jensen nodded.
Tomorrow they could finish things…
Tomorrow Jensen would burn that damn DVD…
**************
The next few days went by in a blur. Jared and Jensen didn’t have a ton of time for just themselves. Clary demanded a lot of their attention, as did work and school. Both would come home completely wiped and would fall into bed before anything else could happen.
Once the weekend rolled around, Sherry and Gerry decided to give Jared and Jensen a break. The grandparents asked if Clary could have a sleepover at their house, and the exhausted parents agreed instantly. They hated the idea of being away from their baby for a day, but they were excited for the time together.
Jared had woken for a few minutes to get Clary dressed and ready for his mom’s arrival. Jensen was awake and helped her eat some cereal before she left. The three sat, trying to carry on little conversations, but it was obvious Jared was still half asleep. As soon as Sherry had picked up his daughter, he had crawled back into bed and crashed almost instantly. Now, a few hours later, Jensen had decided it was time to wake him up for some fun…
“Jay?” Jensen crawled onto the bed and knelt down next to Jared. His husband made a garbled noise but didn’t fully awake. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty.” Jensen leaned over and pressed a kiss to Jared’s forehead, pulling away almost instantly as he felt the heated skin against his lips. “Jared? Baby, wake up!”
Jared groaned as his eyes fluttered opened. They were bloodshot and glassy from his fever. “Hmmm?”
“Jared? You’re sick?”
He blinked, trying to become more coherent. “Maybe?” He groaned again as he pushed himself up in the bed. His skin felt too tight around his chest and he was definitely feeling the effects of a fever.
Jensen felt Jared’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You definitely have a fever. Anything else feel off?”
Jared winced as he tried to move a little. “Chest hurts…”
“How? Like lungs? Heart? Are you-“
“Skin…hurts…”
Jensen’s eyes widened in understanding and he tugged on Jared’s shirt. It revealed reddened blotchy skin around his tattoo. “Aww…Jay…”
Jared moved just enough so that he could see it. “It’s infected isn’t it?”
“Afraid so, buddy.” Jensen climbed off the bed and started changing into a pair of jeans and a shirt. “Come on…we better get you to the clinic. These things aren’t anything to mess around with, Jay.”
Jared nodded and slowly climbed off the bed. He moved stiffly and it took him a little longer than normal to change. “This sucks,” he huffed after he finally got a loose fitting shirt on over his chest, which also was showing signs of swelling around his tat.
“I know it, baby.” Jensen kissed him on the cheek, squeezing his hand gently. “I’ve been there. It happens.”
“I don’t understand…I did what Misha said…”
“You’ve been around little kids everyday since you go it, right?” Jared nodded miserably. “Well, they probably put their germy hands all over it without you even realizing. You said it’s been crazy at the center lately…”
Jared huffed and nodded. He knew Jensen was right, but it still sucked.
“Come on…we’ll get you fixed up in no time.” Jensen squeezed Jared’s hand one last time before he guided him out to the Impala. He drove through the streets over to the clinic, thankful that it wasn’t a trafficky Saturday morning. It didn’t take long before Jared was sitting on Jim’s table with his shirt off, looking extremely glum and exhausted.
Jim gently prodded at the skin around the tattoo and inspected it intensely. “Definitely infected kiddo,” he sighed. “A round of antibiotics should get it cleared up though. Just take it easy for a few days, at least until the fever goes down. If it doesn’t go down within a few days, call me back and we’ll figure something else out. For now, it doesn’t look too bad. The tattoo itself should be perfectly fine was this is all cleared up, Jay.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Jensen sighed.
“I’m betting you’ve had this happen to you in the past?” Jensen nodded. “So you’ll know what to look out for. Just call me if something comes up and you think it’s worse than what it looks to be as of right now.”
“Sure thing. So I can take him home?”
“Yep…just get some rest buddy.” Jim squeezed Jared’s shoulder and helped him down from the table.
“Thanks, Jim,” Jared sighed with a small smile.
“Any time…just get better.”
Jared sent him one last smile before following Jensen out to the car. After a few more minutes, Jared was curled up in bed once more with Jensen hovering over him. “Jen…you heard Jim. I’ll be fine. I just need to get some rest and take those meds. After a day or so I won’t have a fever and will just have to finish up the course of antibiotics. Don’t worry so much.”
“I’m not…”
“Jen, I tried to get up to get a glass of water and you just about fell down the stairs trying to get it first.”
Jensen pouted a little. “I hate you have to go through this…”
“I’ve been through worse. Do you not remember the fact I gave birth to your daughter?”
“I know that,” Jensen huffed. “I just…this is your first tat. I hate you have to deal with this after you got that done for me.”
“Jen,” Jared sighed, pushing himself up in bed. “It’s ok. I don’t regret getting it done. I’ll live. Don’t feel bad because of it. You didn’t ask for me to get this done. You didn’t tell the kids to scrape up against it. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Jared grabbed onto Jensen’s hand. “Now…stop blaming yourself and get your ass in this bed next to me.”
Jensen smiled and climbed in next to Jared. He pulled his husband over towards him until Jared’s head rested on his chest.
“Hate that this ruins our plans though,” Jared admitted softly. “Was looking forward to some alone time.”
“We’ll figure it out. And you know what?” Jensen replied. “I’ll just have to make sure it is even better for you. Just to show how much I love the tattoo and you.” Jensen nuzzled Jared’s hair. “Especially how much I love you baby.”
Jared settled in next to Jensen happily. “Oh how I like the sound of that…”
“Just wait…pretty sure you’ll like the actual event a hell of a lot more,” Jensen whispered into Jared’s ear sensually, sending chills through him that had nothing to do with his fever.
Just a few days…that’s all he’d have to wait. He could live with that.
**************
Jared walked through the door, fully expecting Clary to run straight at him, but she didn’t. It had been a few days since he had started taking the antibiotics and he had been back at work. Which all meant that Jensen and he hadn’t had any time to themselves yet. Clary had decided that she needed to play nurse to her daddy and ended up all but glued to his side.
But right now, she was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the whole house seemed rather dark and quiet.
“Clary? Jen?” Jared walked through the house, checking the kitchen and den before heading up the stairs. He glanced into Jensen’s office and Clary’s room…both of which were empty. He then walked into his bedroom and was greeted with a very nice sight…
Jensen was sprawled out on their bed, surrounded by soft light from a few candles. He had striped down to his boxers, displaying all his tattoos. Jared’s both ran dry as he took in everything.
“Hey you,” Jensen sighed softly from the bed. “You should get over here you know…”
Jared nodded like a complete dork and crossed over to the bed. “But…where’s Cl-“
“She went with Ellie and Josh…went to that new place with all the blow ups and bouncy toys…”
“Mmm…nice.”
“Yep…means we’ll have the house all to ourselves tonight.” Jensen leaned up and nibbled at Jared’s neck, sending shivers down Jared’s spine. “Think you should be wearing less clothes…”
“Always knew you were a smart one,” Jared teased. He stripped out of his own clothes until he was down to just his boxers as well. The skin around his tattoo was no longer swollen and red. Instead, the ink of the tattoo shown nicely against Jared’s tanned skin. Jensen’s hand glided over it on it’s way up to Jared neck. He pulled Jared down for a kiss and then flipped them so that he was straddling his husband. Jared bucked up into him a little without meaning to. “Sorry,” he said with a blush.
Jensen reached down and pulled Jared’s boxers down. “Don’t apologize. Told you…want to make you feel good, baby.” He began rubbing and jerking at Jared, prepping him for what was to come.
“God,” Jared groaned, feeling himself completely melting into Jensen’s hold. “P-please…more…need…”
“Shh,” Jensen cooed in his ear. “I’ve got you.”
Jared tugged off Jensen’s underwear and dug his fingers into Jensen’s hips, urging him on. “Please…”
Jensen took the hint and finished prepping Jared quickly. Before Jared could say another word, Jensen shoved inside of him. Jared’s muscles clenched down around him automatically as he adjusted. It wasn’t long before Jared’s nails were digging into Jensen’s hips again and trying to get him to move. Jensen groaned and began sliding in and out slowly, finding a rhythm.
“L-love y-you,” Jared stuttered out, feeling himself start to lose control at the feel of Jensen pumping in and out of him.
“Love y-ya too, b-babe,” Jensen replied breathlessly as he tried to control his hips. They were starting to take on a mind of their own, hitting Jared in all of the right places and snapping harder with each little moan Jared let out from his reddened lips. Jensen leaned down and attached his own to them, sliding his tongue in as his hips moved on their own accord. Jared didn’t seem to mind; he was writhing underneath Jensen and urging him all the more.
“H-harder…ri-right there. D-don’t st-stop!”
The words made Jensen’s desire grow and he didn’t dare change the angle of his movements. Instead, he continued to aim for Jared’s sweet spot as he reached in between them to rub at Jared’s groin. Jared’s breath stuttered at the sensation.
Neither lasted much longer after that. They climaxed together, hot and sweaty, screaming loudly for the first time in a long time. After a few seconds, Jensen pulled out. Before he could flop down on the bed next to Jared, Jared grabbed onto his hips, holding him in place.
“Need more…”
Jensen smirked. “You are going to kill me, babe.”
Jared smirked and shifted just a little. He began rubbing at Jensen and arousing him once again.
“Shit,” Jensen gasped. He grabbed onto Jared as the younger man twisted his hands around him. He was edging closer and closer to his peak once again. Before he reached it, he grabbed onto Jared’s hands and pulled them away. He carefully slammed into Jared before his husband could say anything, making him squawk in surprise and then moan out in pleasure.
“God…this…p-perfect…”
Jensen leaned down and started sucking at Jared’s neck. His hips began moving and his hands settled on Jared’s chest. He moved his lips from Jared’s neck so he could whisper in his ear. “Just wait for what all I have in store…then you’ll see what perfect is…”
For the rest of the evening, the two stayed completely intertwined in bed. Most of the time was spent sweaty and writhing around the other. The rest was spent lazily kissing and catching up. All in all, it was perfect for them.
Unfortunately, after that night, the two didn’t have as much time to simply relax like that again. Their life became once again consumed with taking care of their growing daughter and stealing little moments for themselves. Jensen won over a new client that ended up demanding more and more of his time while Jared’s midterms took over his free time.
Jared was nervous over his exams, always was. He couldn’t help it. The nerves always settled deep in his belly, making the muscles tense and achy. But this time…it felt worse than normal. This time, they were more cramp like than just tense. This time, he was leaning down over the toilet every so often, heaving what little amounts of food he consumed. This time was different.
He’d been throwing up for the past few mornings and he had no idea why. Every bout of sickness left him feeling weakened and miserable. He could hardly stay awake as he studied his textbooks. It was not shaping up to be a good few weeks…
He didn’t understand what had brought this on. His mind raced with all the different diseases and illnesses that could be causing this, as he lay slumped against the toilet. He finally dragged himself up off the floor so he could grab his laptop. He carefully sat down on his bed and starting searching.
He typed in “antibiotic side effects” since that was really the only think he’d been doing differently lately. He skimmed through the list of various things until one popped up in big bright red letters…
Remember to use back up birth control while taking these types of medications as they render your normal pills null…
The rest of the side effects fell away as he focused on that one sentence warning.
“Oh shit,” he gasped. He had completely forgotten about that. And he had been on the antibiotics when he had spent that day in bed… “Shit!” He pushed his laptop away and jumped up from his bed. He rushed down the stairs, grabbing his keys on the way. He was happy that Clary was with Donna for the day. It made things easier.
Jared drove to Jim’s clinic quickly. He knew he could have easily just gone to the drugstore and grabbed a test. But now that he was actually thinking about it…he knew all the symptoms fit. He’d had the cramping that came at the beginning of pregnancy. He’d been exhausted no matter how much he’d slept. And he’d been throwing up…
He threw the car into park and rushed into Jim’s clinic. There weren’t too many people in front of him, thankfully. Jim greeted him with a look of shock. “Jared? Come on back.” Jared followed him into the office. “So…what brought you in? You still have that infection from last month or-“
“I didn’t know antibiotics screwed with birth control…”
Jim scrunched his brows in confusion but then realized what Jared was meaning. “Oh…”
“Yeah,” Jared sighed as he lay back on the examination table.
Jim lifted up his shirt and started feeling around. “Morning sickness?”
“And the cramping…just like the first time…”
“Let me grab the ultrasound machine and I’ll take a look. It could be-“
“Jim…”
“I know, buddy,” Jim sighed. He squeezed Jared’s shoulder and stepped out to grab everything he need. After a few moments, Jared’s suspicions were confirmed when a little cluster like blob appeared on the screen.
“I’m pregnant,” Jared gasped, not able to take his eyes off the image.
“Yep…I’m guessing you got pregnant the week you were on antibiotics?”
“Yeah…”
“So that puts you at four weeks.”
Jared nodded. He was trying to take it all in, but he was still in shock. He did want another baby. He just wished he had been able to plan this one. He was ok though. Underneath all the fears and stresses that started to nag at his mind, he was already starting to feel excited. Jim cleaned the gunk off his belly and he settled his hand there, knowing that it would soon be feeling very different.
Jim handed him some prescriptions for vitamins and a list of various ways to alleviate morning sickness, just as he had done over three years ago. It felt like an odd sense of déjà vu as he crept back to the car with all the materials.
He picked up his cell phone from the cup holder once inside his vehicle. He had forgotten it in his haste to get into the clinic. He had a few text messages on it. Donna had sent him one saying Clary wanted to sleep over with them for the night. The other was from Jensen asking if he wanted to go to dinner in a few minutes. Jared quickly dialed Jensen’s number while he sat in the parking lot.
“Hey!”
“H-hey J-Jen,” Jared replied, hating the way his nerves leaked into his voice.
“You ok?”
“Yeah…sorry. You wanted dinner?”
“Yeah…Mom said Clary was staying there for a bit and thought it would be nice. I’m leaving that new store I’ve been working with now. I’m right by the diner if you want to meet me there.”
“Sounds good. I’m only about a block away actually.”
“You’re not home?”
“Um…no…I had to run an errand.”
“Are you really ok, Jay? You sound…I don’t know…not that ok…”
“I’m ok. I promise. Just…I need to talk to you about something. I just don’t want to do it over the phone. I’ll be right there.” Jared clicked his phone shut before Jensen had the chance to respond. He pulled out of Jim’s parking lot and drove the block over to the diner Jensen had mentioned. Jensen was already there, leaning against the Impala, waiting for him. “Hey,” Jared sighed as he stepped out of the car. Unfortunately for him, a wave of dizziness hit him.
“Woah,” Jensen gasped, reaching for Jared and grabbing onto him. “You are definitely not ok! What the hell is going on Jay?” He guided Jared back down so that he was sitting in the car again. Jensen leaned in so that he was looking Jared in the eyes.
“I’m ok, Jen.”
“You just about passed out getting out of your damn car! And don’t think I didn’t hear you throwing up earlier. Tell me what’s going on? Is that infection still hanging on? If so you need to tell me so I can take you to see Jim again!”
“I just came from Jim’s,” Jared admitted, rubbing his neck to keep his shaking hands busy. He knew Jensen would be excited, but it was still nerve wracking to him.
“What?” Jensen asked, his voice starting to shake. “A-are you sick? Please just-“
“Jen,” Jared interrupted. “I’m not sick. I promise.” He grabbed Jensen’s hand in his. “I’m in shock…but I’m ok.” He smiled up at Jensen, who did not seem to understand whatsoever. “You remember that night…when I was still on the meds and Clary went out with your brother?”
“Yeah,” Jensen said, furrowing his brow. “But what the hell does that have to do with you going to see-Oh my God!” Jensen’s face lit up in a huge smile. “You’re…are you…”
“I’m pregnant,” Jared sighed, smiling as well. “Apparently antibiotics cancel out birth control.”
“Huh…didn’t know that…”
“No shit,” Jared laughed. He rubbed his face tiredly.
Jensen kissed him on the forehead. “I know you weren’t ready for this yet. But we’ll get through it. I’m happy and I hope-“
“I’m happy too, babe. I promise,” Jared emphasized. “I’m just still in shock. But don’t think I’m not happy about the baby.” Jared’s hand wrapped around his flat stomach once again.
Jensen’s hand settled above Jared’s. “I’m glad. We really are shit for timing, huh?”
Jared barked out a laugh. “We always seem to time it right when I’m about to graduate in some way…”
Jensen pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you for this Jay!”
“Pretty sure it took both of us,” Jared laughed near Jensen’s ear.
“Yeah…but…I don’t have to deal with as much. You do. And you are so amazing for it. I just…thank you.”
Jared couldn’t stop the goofy grin from forming on his face. Jensen wasn’t doing much better. He looked close to tears at the news and was practically bouncing with excitement.
“Come on! Let’s go get something to eat to celebrate!”
“Thought we were heading into the diner?” Jared asked.
“No! I’m taking you to that Italian place you love!” He leaned in and kissed Jared once last time before heading back over to the Impala. His smile never faltered and Jared could have sworn he saw his tattooed punk husband skip on his way to the car.
Jared shook his head and let out another laugh as he closed his car door. He watched Jensen pull out, but he sat there for another minute. He looked down at his stomach while the images of Jensen’s happy face filtered through is mind.
Everything was going to be ok…
A/N: I decided to turn this into a verse because it is just too much fun to write! I wanted this up a couple of days ago, but I got on a Darren Criss kick and got distracted by his voice lol. Hope you enjoyed this! I have a few more installments already planned out!
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Word Count: ~8200
Rating/Warnings: NC-17 for sexual situations, MPREG
A/N: This is the sequel to Rest Your Head, I’m Permanent which was a gift for fatebegins who had made a manip of a tattooed Jensen holding a baby.
Summary: When Jared plans a surprise for Jensen, his husband of nearly three years, he doesn’t realize what all he is getting himself into at all…not that Jensen minds of course…
Jensen woke, trying to snuggle back down into the bed to catch a few more hours of sleep. He felt his daughter move and he reached to pull her closer. He assumed she had just woken him as she turned in her sleep. With a sigh, he buried his head into her curly hair and started to drift off to sleep. He was woken again…this time realizing it was a noise in the other room startling him from sleep. He also realized that Jared wasn’t beside him anymore.
Jensen sat up a little in bed and looked around. The noise echoed through the hallway again, prompting him to climb out of bed. He pushed the pillows down farther so that Clary wouldn’t roll over and off the bed. The little girl had bunked with them sometime in the middle of the night after a nightmare. Once he was sure she would be fine for a few minutes, he headed down the hallway. The noise came again, and he could tell it was echoing through from the bathroom. As he approached, it became obvious it was the sound of retching.
Jensen gently pushed open the door, revealing Jared curled around the toilet. “Jay?” he said softly.
“Mmmm,” Jared groaned as he leaned up to flush everything away. “S’rry…wake you?”
“Don’t be.” Jensen grabbed a cup from the sink and filled it with water before he knelt down beside his husband, pulling him close until Jared was resting against his chest. He could feel Jared trembling from the exertion of everything. “How long you been sick?”
“Not sick,” Jared replied, borderline petulantly. He took the cup and swished the water around in his mouth to rid the aftertaste from his bout of sickness. He leaned forward and spit the water into the toilet. He fell back against Jensen afterwards.
Jensen checked Jared’s forehead for a fever, not completely believing the younger man.
“I’m fine Jen,” Jared said a little stronger.
“If you’re fine why are you throwing up? Last I checked you only do that when you are sick or…oh…are you…God Jay! Are you pregnant again?”
“No!” Jared answered quickly. He’d had a scare not too long ago that he hadn’t mentioned to Jensen just yet. Now that Clary was going on three, Jared knew Jensen was going to start to bring it up more. He just wasn’t sure he could juggle another baby on top of everything else. Between taking care of a toddler, working through his degrees, and doing his practicum through Sam’s center, he was busy enough.
“Then why are you throwing up at five in the morning?”
“You can throw up from nerves…”
“You have that big test,” Jensen sighed with realization.
“Yeah.” But that wasn’t really what was making Jared so nervous that he was throwing up. What he had planned for after his test was what was making him sick with anticipation.
“You’ll be fine, babe. Its just JD…”
“And he does hard tests…this one will pretty much decide if I pass his course. If I pass his coarse, then I’ll get my masters this Dec.”
“And if not you can-“
“I’ve already planned on it, Jen. I can’t screw up.”
“You never do, babe.” Jen pressed a kiss to the side of his. “You’ll be fine.”
“Daddy sick?” Clary said from the door before Jared could continue. She was in her ladybug footed pajamas. Her stuffed moose, the same one Jeff had bought before she was born, was hanging limply in one hand while the other rubbed at her eyes. Her messy curls bounced as she moved. They looked a lot like Jared’s did at the moment.
“I’m fine baby,” Jared answered, motioning for her to come to him. She stumbled towards him and fell into his chest. He hugged her close, kissing her on her forehead. “How’d you get out of our big bed on your own?”
“Nala helped!” She held up her moose proudly, causing Jared to chuckle. Aidan had named the toy before Clary could even speak. He had decided the toy needed to bear the name of his Simba’s best friend since Clary was his. He’d been enamored with Clary since she was born, often playing with her instead of his big brothers. Given Aidan’s developmental delay, the two were very similar despite the age difference. They were quite the pair, each more than patient with the other.
“Did she now?” Jensen went on. He ran his hand over the little moose’s head. “She must be growing big and strong, huh?”
“Uh huh,” she yawned in reply.
“How about you go back to sleep in our bed for a little while sweetheart?” Jared suggested. He stood, holding Clary in his arms. He prayed his nerves would settle long enough for him to take her into the bedroom again.
“Will Papa come too? Nala gets scared…”
Jensen smiled at his daughter. “You bet Clary…Poppa will come back to bed with you.”
“Daddy too?” She turned big puppy dog eyes onto Jared. Now he knew exactly how his parents had felt with him as a child. One of these days he’d have to get around to apologizing to them for that.
“Just for a little while. Daddy’s got school.”
“Ok,” she sighed sleepily. She leaned her head against Jared’s shoulder. Her hair tickled the underside of his chin, but he didn’t dare move her from her place. She was already mostly asleep and he didn’t want to wake her. She could stand to sleep another hour or two.
By the time they reached the bedroom, Clary was already asleep. Jared slid her under the covers while Jensen climbed in on the other side. Jared slid in behind Clary across from Jensen. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself. He felt Jensen’s hand run over his hair.
“You sure you’re ok, Jay?” Jensen asked very softly so as not to wake their daughter.
“I’ll be fine. It’s just nerves. I’m not sick…and I’m not pregnant.”
Jensen bit his lip for a moment. “You…you know it would be ok.”
“What?” Jared said, meeting Jensen’s eyes. He reached up and took Jensen’s hand in his own, running his fingers over the compass tattooed across the back of it.
“If you were…you know…pregnant.”
Jared smiled slightly. “Thanks.” He kissed Jensen’s hand. “I do want another baby…just not sure when.”
“Whenever you’re ready. In the meantime, we can keep practicing.”
“I like the sound of that,” Jared replied with a small smirk. He went to lean in for a real kiss when Clary moved ever so slightly. “Maybe the munchkin can get some sleep in her own bed tonight and we can.”
“Yeah…what’s all her nightmares about anyway?”
“She watched the original Toy Story and is now having nightmares that Sid is going to come destroy Nala.”
“Sid? He’s the little bastard of a neighbor right?”
“Yep…”
“So she’s afraid of him but not Scar from Lion King and Rattigan from Great Mouse Detective?”
“Hey, those are the best…kid’s got taste.”
“That’s because she is in love with your two favorite Disney movies.”
Jared smiled a little and ran his hair gently through Clary’s hair. She really was a good mix of her daddies. She tended to favor Jared more in looks, but her personality was a good combination of them both. She was curious and creative like Jensen, yet already showed signs of intelligence like Jared.
“When do you have to get up, Jay?”
Jared pushed up in bed and glanced towards the clock. It was going towards six and his test was at eight o’clock sharp. “Probably should get up soon,” he sighed. “Is Ellie going to take Clary to the center for me later?”
“Yeah…she’s going to drop her off with Aidan. You said Sam didn’t mind right?”
“Not at all. Clary is good for Aidan. She helps him open up and socialize a lot more. Sam loves her with the other kids too. So she’s fine.” Jared looked down at his daughter once more. “Hard not to love her.”
“Damn straight,” Jensen said proudly. “We did good…”
“Yeah…not bad at all. Maybe next time we can not get me knocked up in a closet though. I seriously don’t want to lie to two kids about that you know.”
“Yeah…not sure they’d like that too much.”
“Probably not.” Jared leaned down and kissed Clary on her forehead. “Alright…I better shower and get ready to head out.”
“Want me to get up and make you breakfast?”
“Nah…not sure my stomach could handle it. Get some more sleep with our girl.”
“Alright…come here though.” Jared walked around to the other side of the bed. Jensen pulled him down and passionately kissed him on the mouth. “Good luck. I’ll see you when I get home from my meeting. It will probably be late. The girl can’t squeeze in the consultation until after her shop closes.”
“It’s ok. I’ll see you tonight. Maybe we can get some more…practice…in then.”
“Did I ever tell you how smart you were?”
Jared rolled his eyes but gave Jensen another kiss before heading towards the shower. He quickly took off his sweatpants and t-shirt. He gently ran his fingers over his bare chest for a moment and the nauseous feeling returned to his stomach. It wouldn’t be much longer…
**************
“I can’t believe you are actually doing this,” Jeff said in awe as he walked with Jared. “I mean…just…it’s you and you don’t…”
“You’re not helping here, Jeff,” Jared sighed. The two continued to walk down the sidewalk as leaves fell from the nearby trees. “Why did I bother asking you here?”
“Aww…because I’m your awesome big brother.” Jeff grabbed Jared and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “And there is no way in hell you’d do this by yourself. Why isn’t Jensen here?”
“It’s a surprise. He doesn’t know I’m doing this.”
Jeff nodded. “He’ll love it you know…”
“Oh I know. He’s been teasing me about it for awhile.”
“I bet,” Jeff huffed.
They reached their destination a few moments later. Jared just stared up at the sign on the building for a second, trying to calm himself before stepping inside. The sound of buzzing and humming hit Jared hard and he had to fight to stand still. It wasn’t like he’d never been inside the place; it was just never like this.
“Jared!” Misha yelled from across the room.
“H-hi,” Jared stuttered in reply.
“I’ll be ready for your appointment in just a minute. Just let me finish this guy here up.” Misha pointed back and forth between the guy in his seat and Jared. Jared’s eyes were glued to the instrument in his hand…the tattoo needle.
“Shit,” he mumbled. He turned away and tried to catch his breath and calm his nerves.
“Hey,” Jeff said softly, squeezing Jared’s shoulder. “You’re ok, bub. You want to do this. It’s ok. I’ll be there the whole time. Just keep picturing Jensen’s face when he sees the end product. You know he has always been curious how you’d look in tats. It’s ok. You’ll be fine.” Jeff rubbed soothing circles up and down Jared’s back, knowing now was not the time to tease his baby brother over his fear of needles.
Jared nodded, trying to focus on Jeff’s words and the hand on his shoulder. He wanted this. He’d been planning on this for months; putting it off any longer wouldn’t work and he knew that.
“One tat,” Jared replied softly. “Just want to do this once.”
“Whatever you want, kid,” Jeff added. “Come on…Misha’s ready for you.”
“A-already?”
“Yeah…come on.” Jeff squeezed Jared’s shoulder one last time and guided towards the padded chair Misha had motioned for them to go over to. Jared had been too busy freaking out to notice.
“Hey Jay…was beginning to think I’d never get you in my chair,” Misha joked, trying to help break the tension. Misha adored Jared, having met him when he was pregnant with Clary and Jensen had come in for a touch up on some of his ink. But he knew how much Jared hated needles so he never really expected this. “I take it Jenny finally corrupted you, huh?”
“H-he doesn’t know y-yet. Want to surprise him.”
“Cool…he’s going to flip over this, man.” Misha squeezed Jared shoulder as he reached over for his sketch. “So this is what I came up with for you. It’s almost the exact same as Jensen’s, but it is a little more on the old fashioned side, not by much though. And I put the phrase under it like you wanted. I got the Latin right, didn’t I? Been awhile since I’ve taken a course.”
Jared took the sketch from Misha’s hand and just stared at it in awe for a moment. Misha had sketched out a compass almost identical to the one Jensen’s had inked onto the back of his hand. It had always been one of Jared’s favorites. He read the Latin inscription underneath…duce te cor meum. “You guide my heart…exactly what I wanted. It’s perfect Misha.”
“Awesome! Well, let me get this fixed up so I can transfer it onto you and go from there, buddy. Just sit tight and try to relax. Go ahead and strip off your hoodie and any shirts you have on underneath. You’ll be fine.”
“You holding up ok?” Jeff asked as Misha went to go gather up his supplies.
“I think if I keep my eyes shut during it I’ll be ok. Wish there was a way I could not hear too…”
“You got your iPod on you?”
Jared nodded. “It’s in my hoodie.”
Jeff grabbed the article of clothing and dug out the device. He sorted through songs for a minute until he came upon the ones he wanted. “Here.” He stuck the earbuds into his brother’s ear and hit play. Jared’s ears were soon filled with Jensen’s voice; Jeff had found the few songs Jensen had recorded with Chris on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
“Thanks,” Jared sighed. He focused on his husbands voice as Misha came over with his gear. Misha disinfected Jared’s chest and started the needle. Jared continued to concentrate on the hum of the melody rather than the hum of the needle. He closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see it come near him.
He jumped a little as Misha touched his shoulder, but he managed to not move once the tattooing began. Misha worked quickly while Jared listened to the music on a loop. His ears hurt from the higher volume, but it helped block out everything else.
Misha looked up to Jeff with a smile a couple of hours later. Jared hadn’t opened his eyes once, too busy trying not to think about the needle stabbing into his chest. Misha turned off the needle and gently pulled an earbud out of Jared’s ear.
“You know, to be petrified of needles, you have been the easiest client I think I’ve ever had,” Misha laughed. He grabbed a rag and started to clean Jared up. He pushed the needle far enough away so that Jared wouldn’t see it.
“I-is…is it over?” Jared asked. His eyes were watery from the pain in his chest and his nerves were still a little shot. Yet he was excited to see what Misha had created for him.
“Yep…all done, man,” Misha replied with a wink. “You feel like standing up? I’ll walk you over to the mirror then I’ll put the bandage over it.”
Jared nodded and allowed his brother and Misha to help him up from the chair. His chest burned as he sat forward, but it was manageable.
“Chest tats tend to hurt, Jay,” Misha explained. “The skin is thin over the muscles and the bones so if it gets too much, just say so and we’ll pause and let you sit for a few minutes. I know this is your first one and all.”
“Misha,” Jared sighed, “go have a kid and we’ll talk about pain, man…”
Jeff bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as he helped Jared over to the mirror. “He’s got a point, Mish,” Jeff said. “No pain meds either…”
“Shit, forgot about that,” Misha replied. “No idea why you’d go the natural route when you got the good shit waiting on you.”
“Didn’t want a needle in my back…”
“But you’ll put up with one repeatedly jabbing you in the chest for a tattoo?” Jeff huffed.
“Never said it was logical,” Jared replied as he stepped up to the mirror. His eyes settled on the tattoo. Misha had captured the old fashion design of a compass, silver and black ink spreading across his muscular chest. North was pointed towards his heart and the script like letters of his quote sprawled out underneath it. “Wow…”
“Think it is safe to say that it is one of my best,” Misha continued with a smile. “Jen will love it, dude.”
“Yeah,” Jared answered, still in awe. He never considered having a tattoo, not until he had met Jensen at least. Now, he was glad he did it. He still didn’t want to think of what his mom would say if or when she saw it…but he was happy with it.
“Alright, come here then so I can put this over it and get you ready to go.”
“Sounds good,” Jared sighed. “I’ve got work soon anyway.”
Misha grabbed the bandage, pressed it over the area, and taped it down onto Jared’s skin. “Keep it covered until you leave work at least, that way the kids aren’t accidentally touching it. Make sure you wear baggy shirts for a few days and see if you can’t keep the kids’ hands off of it. It will take a little while to heal and it is open to infections. Jen will know the drill.”
“Thanks, man.” Jared reached out his hand to shake Misha’s, but the other man pulled him into a hug. Jared smiled and hugged him back.
“You did good, Jay. Call me when you want you next one.”
“Don’t think that will happen…but you know I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
“Better not,” Misha replied with fake sternness. He finished putting Jared’s bandage on and grabbed his shirt. “There ya go, man.”
Jared carefully slid his shirt on over his head and chest. It was loose enough so that it wouldn’t rub painfully, but he was worried the v-neck of the polo getting tugged on by the kids and rubbing. He’d have to just be careful.
“Thanks again, Misha.”
“Better let me know what Jen thinks of it!”
Jeff laughed and clapped Mish on the shoulder. “They will. See ya ‘round.” With that, Jeff took Jared out to the car to head to work. “You want me to drive you to work? It isn’t that far from the hospital and I’ve got the time.”
“You just want to drive my car…”
“Shut up,” Jeff huffed, even if it was true. Jeff knew Jared was going to sell him his older car as soon as he could get a new one for himself. But for now, Jeff was still stuck bumming rides from friends and Katie.
Jared handed over the keys and let Jeff drive him to Sam’s center for work. He arrived a little early but headed in nonetheless. “Hey Sam,” he yelled with a wave as he entered his office. She always allowed her workers to stash their coats and other belongings in there so the kids couldn’t get into them.
“You’re early, kiddo,” Sam said, looking up from her paperwork.
“Um…yeah,” Jared shrugged. “I had an appointment earlier but it ended up taking less time than I had expected.”
“Appointment? Everything ok? You pregnant on me again, boy?”
“No!” He was starting to get tired of people asking him that. First Jensen and now Sam! “I swung by Misha’s shop,” he sighed.
“That tattoo shop?”
“Yeah…”
“Oh my God!” Sam shrieked. “You actually did it!” She stood from her chair and ran over towards him. “What did you get? Have you told Jensen yet? Did-“
“Slow down, Sam,” Jared laughed. “I got a compass on my chest. It’s bandaged right now, but I’ll show you before I leave, ok?”
“You better! Oh…before I forget, Ellie brought Aidan in but said Jen’s meeting got cancelled so he kept Clary at home with him for the day.”
“Ok…thanks for letting me know.”
“Of course. Now go out there and get to work! I’m not paying for you to stand around my office.” She winked at him and shooed him out of her office.
Jared rolled his eyes but smiled at her nonetheless before heading out to be with the kids. The rest of the day went by in a blur of behavior therapy, lessons, and play times. A few of the younger children were especially clingy. They hung from his neck and grabbed at his shirt, often rubbing against his healing tattoo. The bandage ended up come off a little around the edges thanks to them, but he didn’t think it was too big of a deal.
But by the end of his shift, he was definitely happy to be headed back home. He was sore and exhausted. All he wanted to do was crawl in bed with Jensen and show his husband his surprise.
Jared pulled into the driveway that led to the large guesthouse in which Jensen and he still dwelled. By now, they could easily afford to move out to a house of their own, but neither felt like moving farther away from Jensen’s brother and family. They enjoyed the living arrangement and the house was definitely large enough for them, even if they did ever have another child.
Jared climbed out of his car, thankful that his seatbelt was off so that it would no longer rub against his chest. It felt sore and already hinted at the itchiness that Misha had warned about.
He opened the door to their house and was hit by music. The tune was familiar and he smiled in anticipation of what was no doubt awaiting him in the kitchen. He slid off his hoodie and let it fall against the back of the couch for now.
When he stepped into the kitchen, he was not disappointed...
Jensen had food cooking on the stove and music blaring from his iPod dock. Clary was giggling in his arms as he danced around the room, dipping her exaggeratedly while he sang.
“This thing...called love...I just can't handle it! This thing…called love…I must get round to it! I ain’t ready! Crazy little thing called love!" Jensen belted out the familiar song with gusto, making Clary laugh all the more. She tried to sing along, but she flubbed over the words in her excitement.
Jared smiled at the scene as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Daddy!" Clary squealed, spotting him as Jensen dipped her once again.
"Hey baby girl," Jared replied. He walked over to the two of them to take Clary from Jensen's arms. "What are you up to?"
"Daddy's teaching me to be a Queen!"
Jared bit his lip to stop from laughing.
"No," Jensen interrupted. "I'm teaching you to sing like 'Queen' sweetheart." Jensen kissed on the cheek and smoothed down her unruly curls.
"That's what I meant! Poppa's teaching me to sing like those guys!"
"Wow!" Jared kissed her as well. "Why don't you take a break from rock star lessons and go wash up for dinner, Clary?"
"Ok," Clary answered before she began to squirm. Jared set her down onto the ground and she hurried off to wash her hands like he had taught her.
Once she was around the corner he felt Jensen's arm worm their way around his waist. The song changed to “We will Rock You” in the background. Jared leaned against his husband, enjoying their moment alone. Freddie Mercury's voice continued to fill the kitchen.
"You know you are corrupting our toddler right?" Jared teased.
"Nah…kid just has good taste in music. Besides, Dad introduced me to them when I was little and look how I turned out!" Jared raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Fine...at least I wasn't playing one like ‘Radio Ga Ga’ or..."
Jared laughed and turned to kiss Jensen. "Or Don't Stop Me Now..."
"I wouldn't dream of stopping, you know." Jensen smirked, moving his hand from Jared's waist towards his ass and pressing him close. He leaned down and kissed Jared's neck.
"Mmmm," Jared moaned at the sensation but pushed away. "Better slow it down Loverboy..."
"Ha! Knew you were a fan of Queen!"
"You caught me," Jared sighed. "But Clary will be back soon..."
Jensen pouted. "But...The Show Must Go On," he sung, the iPod having changed songs again.
Jared laughed at the timing. He could hear Clary coming back down the hall. "After dinner...have a surprise for you anyway."
Clary entered the room and started singing along again before Jensen could ask for more details. Instead he went about preparing his daughter a plate.
**************
Jared fell on the bed with a groan. He was exhausted. Clary hadn’t wanted to go to sleep in her own bed and it had taken awhile to persuade her to try it at least. Jensen was still in there, making sure she was going to stay in there before he finished through with his plans from earlier.
After a few minutes, Jared heard the door click shut and felt the bed dip next to him. Jensen’s hand settled on his polo-clad stomach, rubbing at the muscles underneath. “Hey,” Jensen said, nuzzling at Jared’s neck.
“Hey yourself.” Jared turned so that he was facing Jensen and kissed him on the forehead.
“So…can I have my surprise now?” Jensen sent him a little smile, one that Jared couldn’t help but find absolutely adorable.
“Maybe…”
Jensen pouted and started kissing at Jared’s neck, sucking and nipping in all the right ways.
“Ok…ok,” Jared laughed. He moved so that he was sitting up a little more. “I…um…well…shit. I guess I’ll just show you.” His hand shook with nerves a little as he pulled his work shirt off and over his head, revealing his new tattoo. Jensen gasped at the sight. “What do you think?”
“Oh my God! Is it a stick on or something?”
Jared glared and playfully slapped Jen on the arm. “Shut up…”
Jensen couldn’t quit smiling and finally traced the edges of the compass tattoo with his fingers. “This is incredible. I can’t believe…you put up with the needle for this?”
“Wanted it. It’s…it’s for you. Misha made it really close to the one on your hand.” Jared took his husband’s hand in his and ran his finger over it. “I wanted something to represent us. After everything…you know…you didn’t have to stick with me and you did.”
“You never had to with me either and you did.”
“It’s just-“
“I know, Jay,” Jensen said with a smile. He pushed up and kissed Jared on the lips. Jared pushed up into Jensen’s mouth as he hands moved up and down Jensen’s arms. Jensen pushed back and settled against him. “Mmm…”
Jared tugged on Jensen’s shirt until he finally got the hint and took it off. Their bare chests collided, sending heat through each other. They rubbed up against each other. Jensen’s hand settled at Jared’s sweatpants covered crouch. He toyed with the material at the waistband and started to slowly push under.
About that time, their door crashed open. The two pulled apart quickly, nearly falling off the bed in their haste. They looked up to see their little girl toddling inside their room with tear tracks down her face and her moose held tightly against his chest.
“Baby?” Jensen sighed softly. “What’s wrong?”
Jared leaned over the bed and picked up Clary so he could set her in between the two of them. “Another nightmare, Clary?”
She nodded as she burrowed into her poppa’s side. “Sid took Nala again.” She hugged her moose to her chest as a few more tears leaked out.
“Aww…I’m sorry baby,” Jared sighed. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and pulled the blanket over top them. He looked over to Jensen and sent him an apologetic look. He mouthed the word ‘tomorrow’ and Jensen nodded.
Tomorrow they could finish things…
Tomorrow Jensen would burn that damn DVD…
**************
The next few days went by in a blur. Jared and Jensen didn’t have a ton of time for just themselves. Clary demanded a lot of their attention, as did work and school. Both would come home completely wiped and would fall into bed before anything else could happen.
Once the weekend rolled around, Sherry and Gerry decided to give Jared and Jensen a break. The grandparents asked if Clary could have a sleepover at their house, and the exhausted parents agreed instantly. They hated the idea of being away from their baby for a day, but they were excited for the time together.
Jared had woken for a few minutes to get Clary dressed and ready for his mom’s arrival. Jensen was awake and helped her eat some cereal before she left. The three sat, trying to carry on little conversations, but it was obvious Jared was still half asleep. As soon as Sherry had picked up his daughter, he had crawled back into bed and crashed almost instantly. Now, a few hours later, Jensen had decided it was time to wake him up for some fun…
“Jay?” Jensen crawled onto the bed and knelt down next to Jared. His husband made a garbled noise but didn’t fully awake. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty.” Jensen leaned over and pressed a kiss to Jared’s forehead, pulling away almost instantly as he felt the heated skin against his lips. “Jared? Baby, wake up!”
Jared groaned as his eyes fluttered opened. They were bloodshot and glassy from his fever. “Hmmm?”
“Jared? You’re sick?”
He blinked, trying to become more coherent. “Maybe?” He groaned again as he pushed himself up in the bed. His skin felt too tight around his chest and he was definitely feeling the effects of a fever.
Jensen felt Jared’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You definitely have a fever. Anything else feel off?”
Jared winced as he tried to move a little. “Chest hurts…”
“How? Like lungs? Heart? Are you-“
“Skin…hurts…”
Jensen’s eyes widened in understanding and he tugged on Jared’s shirt. It revealed reddened blotchy skin around his tattoo. “Aww…Jay…”
Jared moved just enough so that he could see it. “It’s infected isn’t it?”
“Afraid so, buddy.” Jensen climbed off the bed and started changing into a pair of jeans and a shirt. “Come on…we better get you to the clinic. These things aren’t anything to mess around with, Jay.”
Jared nodded and slowly climbed off the bed. He moved stiffly and it took him a little longer than normal to change. “This sucks,” he huffed after he finally got a loose fitting shirt on over his chest, which also was showing signs of swelling around his tat.
“I know it, baby.” Jensen kissed him on the cheek, squeezing his hand gently. “I’ve been there. It happens.”
“I don’t understand…I did what Misha said…”
“You’ve been around little kids everyday since you go it, right?” Jared nodded miserably. “Well, they probably put their germy hands all over it without you even realizing. You said it’s been crazy at the center lately…”
Jared huffed and nodded. He knew Jensen was right, but it still sucked.
“Come on…we’ll get you fixed up in no time.” Jensen squeezed Jared’s hand one last time before he guided him out to the Impala. He drove through the streets over to the clinic, thankful that it wasn’t a trafficky Saturday morning. It didn’t take long before Jared was sitting on Jim’s table with his shirt off, looking extremely glum and exhausted.
Jim gently prodded at the skin around the tattoo and inspected it intensely. “Definitely infected kiddo,” he sighed. “A round of antibiotics should get it cleared up though. Just take it easy for a few days, at least until the fever goes down. If it doesn’t go down within a few days, call me back and we’ll figure something else out. For now, it doesn’t look too bad. The tattoo itself should be perfectly fine was this is all cleared up, Jay.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Jensen sighed.
“I’m betting you’ve had this happen to you in the past?” Jensen nodded. “So you’ll know what to look out for. Just call me if something comes up and you think it’s worse than what it looks to be as of right now.”
“Sure thing. So I can take him home?”
“Yep…just get some rest buddy.” Jim squeezed Jared’s shoulder and helped him down from the table.
“Thanks, Jim,” Jared sighed with a small smile.
“Any time…just get better.”
Jared sent him one last smile before following Jensen out to the car. After a few more minutes, Jared was curled up in bed once more with Jensen hovering over him. “Jen…you heard Jim. I’ll be fine. I just need to get some rest and take those meds. After a day or so I won’t have a fever and will just have to finish up the course of antibiotics. Don’t worry so much.”
“I’m not…”
“Jen, I tried to get up to get a glass of water and you just about fell down the stairs trying to get it first.”
Jensen pouted a little. “I hate you have to go through this…”
“I’ve been through worse. Do you not remember the fact I gave birth to your daughter?”
“I know that,” Jensen huffed. “I just…this is your first tat. I hate you have to deal with this after you got that done for me.”
“Jen,” Jared sighed, pushing himself up in bed. “It’s ok. I don’t regret getting it done. I’ll live. Don’t feel bad because of it. You didn’t ask for me to get this done. You didn’t tell the kids to scrape up against it. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Jared grabbed onto Jensen’s hand. “Now…stop blaming yourself and get your ass in this bed next to me.”
Jensen smiled and climbed in next to Jared. He pulled his husband over towards him until Jared’s head rested on his chest.
“Hate that this ruins our plans though,” Jared admitted softly. “Was looking forward to some alone time.”
“We’ll figure it out. And you know what?” Jensen replied. “I’ll just have to make sure it is even better for you. Just to show how much I love the tattoo and you.” Jensen nuzzled Jared’s hair. “Especially how much I love you baby.”
Jared settled in next to Jensen happily. “Oh how I like the sound of that…”
“Just wait…pretty sure you’ll like the actual event a hell of a lot more,” Jensen whispered into Jared’s ear sensually, sending chills through him that had nothing to do with his fever.
Just a few days…that’s all he’d have to wait. He could live with that.
**************
Jared walked through the door, fully expecting Clary to run straight at him, but she didn’t. It had been a few days since he had started taking the antibiotics and he had been back at work. Which all meant that Jensen and he hadn’t had any time to themselves yet. Clary had decided that she needed to play nurse to her daddy and ended up all but glued to his side.
But right now, she was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the whole house seemed rather dark and quiet.
“Clary? Jen?” Jared walked through the house, checking the kitchen and den before heading up the stairs. He glanced into Jensen’s office and Clary’s room…both of which were empty. He then walked into his bedroom and was greeted with a very nice sight…
Jensen was sprawled out on their bed, surrounded by soft light from a few candles. He had striped down to his boxers, displaying all his tattoos. Jared’s both ran dry as he took in everything.
“Hey you,” Jensen sighed softly from the bed. “You should get over here you know…”
Jared nodded like a complete dork and crossed over to the bed. “But…where’s Cl-“
“She went with Ellie and Josh…went to that new place with all the blow ups and bouncy toys…”
“Mmm…nice.”
“Yep…means we’ll have the house all to ourselves tonight.” Jensen leaned up and nibbled at Jared’s neck, sending shivers down Jared’s spine. “Think you should be wearing less clothes…”
“Always knew you were a smart one,” Jared teased. He stripped out of his own clothes until he was down to just his boxers as well. The skin around his tattoo was no longer swollen and red. Instead, the ink of the tattoo shown nicely against Jared’s tanned skin. Jensen’s hand glided over it on it’s way up to Jared neck. He pulled Jared down for a kiss and then flipped them so that he was straddling his husband. Jared bucked up into him a little without meaning to. “Sorry,” he said with a blush.
Jensen reached down and pulled Jared’s boxers down. “Don’t apologize. Told you…want to make you feel good, baby.” He began rubbing and jerking at Jared, prepping him for what was to come.
“God,” Jared groaned, feeling himself completely melting into Jensen’s hold. “P-please…more…need…”
“Shh,” Jensen cooed in his ear. “I’ve got you.”
Jared tugged off Jensen’s underwear and dug his fingers into Jensen’s hips, urging him on. “Please…”
Jensen took the hint and finished prepping Jared quickly. Before Jared could say another word, Jensen shoved inside of him. Jared’s muscles clenched down around him automatically as he adjusted. It wasn’t long before Jared’s nails were digging into Jensen’s hips again and trying to get him to move. Jensen groaned and began sliding in and out slowly, finding a rhythm.
“L-love y-you,” Jared stuttered out, feeling himself start to lose control at the feel of Jensen pumping in and out of him.
“Love y-ya too, b-babe,” Jensen replied breathlessly as he tried to control his hips. They were starting to take on a mind of their own, hitting Jared in all of the right places and snapping harder with each little moan Jared let out from his reddened lips. Jensen leaned down and attached his own to them, sliding his tongue in as his hips moved on their own accord. Jared didn’t seem to mind; he was writhing underneath Jensen and urging him all the more.
“H-harder…ri-right there. D-don’t st-stop!”
The words made Jensen’s desire grow and he didn’t dare change the angle of his movements. Instead, he continued to aim for Jared’s sweet spot as he reached in between them to rub at Jared’s groin. Jared’s breath stuttered at the sensation.
Neither lasted much longer after that. They climaxed together, hot and sweaty, screaming loudly for the first time in a long time. After a few seconds, Jensen pulled out. Before he could flop down on the bed next to Jared, Jared grabbed onto his hips, holding him in place.
“Need more…”
Jensen smirked. “You are going to kill me, babe.”
Jared smirked and shifted just a little. He began rubbing at Jensen and arousing him once again.
“Shit,” Jensen gasped. He grabbed onto Jared as the younger man twisted his hands around him. He was edging closer and closer to his peak once again. Before he reached it, he grabbed onto Jared’s hands and pulled them away. He carefully slammed into Jared before his husband could say anything, making him squawk in surprise and then moan out in pleasure.
“God…this…p-perfect…”
Jensen leaned down and started sucking at Jared’s neck. His hips began moving and his hands settled on Jared’s chest. He moved his lips from Jared’s neck so he could whisper in his ear. “Just wait for what all I have in store…then you’ll see what perfect is…”
For the rest of the evening, the two stayed completely intertwined in bed. Most of the time was spent sweaty and writhing around the other. The rest was spent lazily kissing and catching up. All in all, it was perfect for them.
Unfortunately, after that night, the two didn’t have as much time to simply relax like that again. Their life became once again consumed with taking care of their growing daughter and stealing little moments for themselves. Jensen won over a new client that ended up demanding more and more of his time while Jared’s midterms took over his free time.
Jared was nervous over his exams, always was. He couldn’t help it. The nerves always settled deep in his belly, making the muscles tense and achy. But this time…it felt worse than normal. This time, they were more cramp like than just tense. This time, he was leaning down over the toilet every so often, heaving what little amounts of food he consumed. This time was different.
He’d been throwing up for the past few mornings and he had no idea why. Every bout of sickness left him feeling weakened and miserable. He could hardly stay awake as he studied his textbooks. It was not shaping up to be a good few weeks…
He didn’t understand what had brought this on. His mind raced with all the different diseases and illnesses that could be causing this, as he lay slumped against the toilet. He finally dragged himself up off the floor so he could grab his laptop. He carefully sat down on his bed and starting searching.
He typed in “antibiotic side effects” since that was really the only think he’d been doing differently lately. He skimmed through the list of various things until one popped up in big bright red letters…
Remember to use back up birth control while taking these types of medications as they render your normal pills null…
The rest of the side effects fell away as he focused on that one sentence warning.
“Oh shit,” he gasped. He had completely forgotten about that. And he had been on the antibiotics when he had spent that day in bed… “Shit!” He pushed his laptop away and jumped up from his bed. He rushed down the stairs, grabbing his keys on the way. He was happy that Clary was with Donna for the day. It made things easier.
Jared drove to Jim’s clinic quickly. He knew he could have easily just gone to the drugstore and grabbed a test. But now that he was actually thinking about it…he knew all the symptoms fit. He’d had the cramping that came at the beginning of pregnancy. He’d been exhausted no matter how much he’d slept. And he’d been throwing up…
He threw the car into park and rushed into Jim’s clinic. There weren’t too many people in front of him, thankfully. Jim greeted him with a look of shock. “Jared? Come on back.” Jared followed him into the office. “So…what brought you in? You still have that infection from last month or-“
“I didn’t know antibiotics screwed with birth control…”
Jim scrunched his brows in confusion but then realized what Jared was meaning. “Oh…”
“Yeah,” Jared sighed as he lay back on the examination table.
Jim lifted up his shirt and started feeling around. “Morning sickness?”
“And the cramping…just like the first time…”
“Let me grab the ultrasound machine and I’ll take a look. It could be-“
“Jim…”
“I know, buddy,” Jim sighed. He squeezed Jared’s shoulder and stepped out to grab everything he need. After a few moments, Jared’s suspicions were confirmed when a little cluster like blob appeared on the screen.
“I’m pregnant,” Jared gasped, not able to take his eyes off the image.
“Yep…I’m guessing you got pregnant the week you were on antibiotics?”
“Yeah…”
“So that puts you at four weeks.”
Jared nodded. He was trying to take it all in, but he was still in shock. He did want another baby. He just wished he had been able to plan this one. He was ok though. Underneath all the fears and stresses that started to nag at his mind, he was already starting to feel excited. Jim cleaned the gunk off his belly and he settled his hand there, knowing that it would soon be feeling very different.
Jim handed him some prescriptions for vitamins and a list of various ways to alleviate morning sickness, just as he had done over three years ago. It felt like an odd sense of déjà vu as he crept back to the car with all the materials.
He picked up his cell phone from the cup holder once inside his vehicle. He had forgotten it in his haste to get into the clinic. He had a few text messages on it. Donna had sent him one saying Clary wanted to sleep over with them for the night. The other was from Jensen asking if he wanted to go to dinner in a few minutes. Jared quickly dialed Jensen’s number while he sat in the parking lot.
“Hey!”
“H-hey J-Jen,” Jared replied, hating the way his nerves leaked into his voice.
“You ok?”
“Yeah…sorry. You wanted dinner?”
“Yeah…Mom said Clary was staying there for a bit and thought it would be nice. I’m leaving that new store I’ve been working with now. I’m right by the diner if you want to meet me there.”
“Sounds good. I’m only about a block away actually.”
“You’re not home?”
“Um…no…I had to run an errand.”
“Are you really ok, Jay? You sound…I don’t know…not that ok…”
“I’m ok. I promise. Just…I need to talk to you about something. I just don’t want to do it over the phone. I’ll be right there.” Jared clicked his phone shut before Jensen had the chance to respond. He pulled out of Jim’s parking lot and drove the block over to the diner Jensen had mentioned. Jensen was already there, leaning against the Impala, waiting for him. “Hey,” Jared sighed as he stepped out of the car. Unfortunately for him, a wave of dizziness hit him.
“Woah,” Jensen gasped, reaching for Jared and grabbing onto him. “You are definitely not ok! What the hell is going on Jay?” He guided Jared back down so that he was sitting in the car again. Jensen leaned in so that he was looking Jared in the eyes.
“I’m ok, Jen.”
“You just about passed out getting out of your damn car! And don’t think I didn’t hear you throwing up earlier. Tell me what’s going on? Is that infection still hanging on? If so you need to tell me so I can take you to see Jim again!”
“I just came from Jim’s,” Jared admitted, rubbing his neck to keep his shaking hands busy. He knew Jensen would be excited, but it was still nerve wracking to him.
“What?” Jensen asked, his voice starting to shake. “A-are you sick? Please just-“
“Jen,” Jared interrupted. “I’m not sick. I promise.” He grabbed Jensen’s hand in his. “I’m in shock…but I’m ok.” He smiled up at Jensen, who did not seem to understand whatsoever. “You remember that night…when I was still on the meds and Clary went out with your brother?”
“Yeah,” Jensen said, furrowing his brow. “But what the hell does that have to do with you going to see-Oh my God!” Jensen’s face lit up in a huge smile. “You’re…are you…”
“I’m pregnant,” Jared sighed, smiling as well. “Apparently antibiotics cancel out birth control.”
“Huh…didn’t know that…”
“No shit,” Jared laughed. He rubbed his face tiredly.
Jensen kissed him on the forehead. “I know you weren’t ready for this yet. But we’ll get through it. I’m happy and I hope-“
“I’m happy too, babe. I promise,” Jared emphasized. “I’m just still in shock. But don’t think I’m not happy about the baby.” Jared’s hand wrapped around his flat stomach once again.
Jensen’s hand settled above Jared’s. “I’m glad. We really are shit for timing, huh?”
Jared barked out a laugh. “We always seem to time it right when I’m about to graduate in some way…”
Jensen pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you for this Jay!”
“Pretty sure it took both of us,” Jared laughed near Jensen’s ear.
“Yeah…but…I don’t have to deal with as much. You do. And you are so amazing for it. I just…thank you.”
Jared couldn’t stop the goofy grin from forming on his face. Jensen wasn’t doing much better. He looked close to tears at the news and was practically bouncing with excitement.
“Come on! Let’s go get something to eat to celebrate!”
“Thought we were heading into the diner?” Jared asked.
“No! I’m taking you to that Italian place you love!” He leaned in and kissed Jared once last time before heading back over to the Impala. His smile never faltered and Jared could have sworn he saw his tattooed punk husband skip on his way to the car.
Jared shook his head and let out another laugh as he closed his car door. He watched Jensen pull out, but he sat there for another minute. He looked down at his stomach while the images of Jensen’s happy face filtered through is mind.
Everything was going to be ok…
A/N: I decided to turn this into a verse because it is just too much fun to write! I wanted this up a couple of days ago, but I got on a Darren Criss kick and got distracted by his voice lol. Hope you enjoyed this! I have a few more installments already planned out!