Title: Sierra Sunrise
Author: the-boys-n-me
Pairing: Jack/Ennis (AU/AU)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2968
Disclaimer: Annie Proulx owns the characters from BBM. I'm writing for fun, no money involved.
Summary: This is the sequel to Sierra with Ennis and Jack starting their new life together. This story follows them through their first summer working in and around Yosemite National Park. Things aren't always smooth, but they're determined to make it last. Some new characters join the story, and we'll also see some favorite (and maybe not so favorite) characters from before.
Feedback: Comments are welcome and helpful in many ways. I very much appreciate any and all comments I receive.
Notes: If you'd like to read or reread "Sierra," it can be found
HERE and "Sierra Snapshots" are five one-shots taking place during their nine month separation between summers, and they can be found
HERE Thanks to Bethie
bcatjr who is a great beta and purrson.
Chapter 1 ,
Chapter 2 ,
Chapter 3 ,
Chapter 4 ,
Chapter 5 ,
Chapter 6 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Chapter 8 ,
Chapter 9 ,
Chapter 10 ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 12 ,
Chapter 13 ,
Chapter 14 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Chapter 16 ,
Chapter 17 ,
Chapter 18 ,
Chapter 19 ,
Chapter 20 ,
Chapter 21 ,
Chapter 22 ,
Chapter 23 ,
Chapter 24 ,
Chapter 25 Chapter 26
"I wonder if I should get dressed, so I'll be ready when the doctor releases me?" Ennis asked.
"Yeah, Don brought us some clothes, but it'll be easier if you wait 'til they unhook you from all this stuff. I need to put something else on too," Jack said half-heartedly.
"What's the matter? You don't seem glad I'm getting out," Ennis said, smiling crookedly.
Jack barely registered what Ennis had said, so preoccupied thinking about the conversation they had to have.
"Hey....don't worry, I didn't throw up after breakfast....It'll be fine at home," Ennis said jokingly.
Jack tried to laugh, but his nerves had kicked in. "Maybe before we change, we can talk for a minute." He sat himself down in the nearest chair to the bed.
"Yeah, okay," Ennis said. "I gotta tell you though; I'm about talked out after having Brian here for so long. You and Gavin just left me with him jabbering a mile a minute."
"Sorry....what did he have to say all that time?"
"Brian doesn't need to have anything to say to flap his jaws," Ennis said. "But....he did tell me about him and Gavin. Seems pretty smitten."
"I think it goes both ways," Jack said.
"Did Gavin say anything?"
"No, but just watching them together I can tell."
"Well, that's good. Brian needed someone. It'll be good for him....even though it's someone like Gavin."
"Someone like Gavin....your history with him clouds your vision. He's an okay guy, and I think he and Brian make a good couple actually."
"Yeah, maybe. Too bad they don't live closer to each other."
"It's not that far. If it's meant to be, they'll make it work."
"If they get serious, maybe that'll be the push Brian needs to get a conversation going with at least his step-mother, and maybe later on, his dad too."
"I hope it all works out," Jack said, wishing that Gavin and Brian's love life was all they had to talk about. He got up and retrieved the paper bag from the other chair.
"Is that something Don brought too?" Ennis asked.
"No....Don didn't bring this....someone else did."
"Who?" Ennis asked.
Jack sat back down and cleared his throat. "There's something you don't know. We didn't mention it before, because you weren't doing so hot, and we didn't wanna set you back."
Ennis sat up straighter with a slight groan, his hands clenching and unclenching. "I don't like the sound of this. The doctor said my tests were fine, so you'd best come out with what the hell you've kept from me," Ennis said impatiently.
"All right, all right....just calm down," Jack said, getting up to stand at the side of the bed.
"And what does that paper bag have to do with anything?" Ennis asked.
He didn't like seeing Ennis get worked up just when he'd started to feel so much better. He started to second guess himself, wondering why he hadn't just waited; after all, K.E. had left. But what about the bag? He couldn't have hidden it from Ennis.
He took a deep breath and began. "This isn't about your health....let me start at the beginning."
The first words were out of his mouth, and there was no turning back, but looking at the creases across Ennis' forehead and the worry in his eyes caused him to hesitate while he tried to decide exactly what to say. He'd known this would be hard, but the fact that Ennis' worst nightmare was about to be realized almost made him feel physically ill.
"While you were missing, one of the guys in charge started asking about family members to notify."
He could tell Ennis knew right away where this was going when half the color drained from his face and his jaw tightened up. He didn't expect Ennis' cold stare and realized he needed to explain, and fast.
"I wasn't there at the time. Gavin and I were out searching, and Don hadn't come up yet. We didn't know anything about it until we got back."
"What the hell happened?" Ennis said through clenched teeth.
"Gavin's grandmother mentioned that you had a brother, and they took it from there."
"Dammit to fuckin' hell!" Ennis hissed.
For a second he thought Ennis was going to hit something with his fist. If it hadn't have been for his sore ribs, he might have.
"Please stay calm," Jack urged, trying not to beg.
"Tell me what happened," Ennis insisted.
"Okay, okay, give me a chance." He tried to keep his tone level as he began. "Patricia had no idea she'd done anything wrong. It was before Fred was found and she was beside herself. There was absolutely nothing we could do. When Don came, I told him right away, and he was upset and worried too, but what could we do?"
"Could have told them not to call K.E.," Ennis snapped.
"I'm sorry, Ennis....it was out of our hands."
"Well, what the hell happened?"
"He came up, and at first he was his usual antagonistic self, especially when he saw Gavin. The concern for you showed through though. He went out searching with both barrels blazing. Ended up getting dehydrated and overcome with the heat by the time he got back to base camp. After that he mellowed out."
"Did he put two and two together?" Ennis demanded.
"Yeah....he knows about me - he knows we're together, where you work...."
"Where we live?" Ennis almost shouted. His vital signs shot up on the monitor.
"No, no one told him where we live, but of course he knows it's someplace up here. He knows you work at Yosemite Trails," Jack said, defeated. He sat back down in the chair.
It looked as if Ennis might cry. The veins in his neck stood out and he seemed to almost be trembling. "Fuck!" he shouted.
"Ennis, come on....listen to the rest," Jack said, trying like hell to sound reassuring so that maybe he would calm down. Ennis looked like he wished he could disappear, covering his face with both hands after his outburst.
"All of our friends were up there....Herschel, Ernie, Phyllis, Doug, the Knapps, Pete, others you work with, people I work with....lots of them went over to K.E. and talked to him telling him what a good man you are....he even went out searching again with Phyllis and Doug."
"What are you saying?" Ennis asked, resting his hands in his lap looking like the world had crashed in on him.
"I don't really know what I'm saying....just telling you what happened....and that it seemed like he'd settled down and was acting a lot different."
"What did he do toward you?" Ennis asked.
"He didn't say anything to me....not until today."
"What? Today? Where the hell is he anyway?"
Ennis looked like he held all the problems of the world on his shoulders, and that couldn't be good for him. Jack wished he could turn back time. If he could, he wouldn't have started this conversation. What had he been thinking?
"K.E. left for home this morning. I talked to him in the lobby. That's when he gave me this bag for you."
"You talked to him in the lobby? You shouldn't have gone near him, Jack," Ennis said, shaking his head and closing his eyes.
"It's all right....nothing bad happened," Jack assured him.
"I can't believe you'd do that," Ennis said weakly.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked. He stood up and reached for Ennis' arm. "Is your head okay?"
"Fuck, Jack. At least I've got an excuse for why my mind's fuzzy. What's yours?" he barked out.
"Like I told you....K.E. was acting okay out at the base station and here last night. It's a public place, so I saw no reason I shouldn't go see him when he asked Brian to send me down there."
"It was a dumb thing to do," Ennis said in a raised voice.
"Gavin was down there hiding around the corner just in case."
"This gets worse every minute," Ennis said.
"Everything's all right. K.E. left, and he didn't do anything bad while he was here."
"But he knows everything now. Everything's ruined."
"No, it's not."
"What did he say to you?"
"Not much actually. He mainly wanted to make sure you were okay and that you got this bag. He asked me to give it to you, and that was about it."
"Why didn't he come see me?"
"I don't know - other than you left town without a word, and you've been ignoring his calls for months. He could see you've started a new life up here - new job, new friends....he's not a part of it, so he left."
"That's not like him."
"Well, maybe he's changed."
Ennis was quiet. Jack could see him thinking it over. He placed the bag on the bed. "Why don't you see what's in the bag? Maybe that'll explain something."
Ennis' gave the paper bag his attention, first just looking at it like it was some alien thing dropped down from Mars, then reaching out and touching where the top was crumpled tightly so no one could see inside.
"Do you know what it is?" Ennis asked.
"I have no idea."
"You didn't look in?"
"No....I saved it for you."
"Shit, I don't know if I wanna see or not."
"You've gotta look. It could answer some questions."
"Or not."
"Only one way to find out."
Jack watched Ennis slowly uncrinkle one corner of the bag. He stopped, as if fearing what he'd see inside. Jack wondered how long he'd have to wait to find out what the heck K.E. had given Ennis. It didn't take long for Ennis to stick his hand down inside and feel around, bringing out a white envelope. Judging from the weight, Jack knew there was more than that inside, and he wished Ennis would just open it all the way and take the entire contents out so they could see it, but he tried to remain patient and let Ennis do this his own way.
The envelope had Ennis' name printed in block letters and was sealed tight. When Ennis struggled to get it open, Jack looked around for something to use as a letter opener. He saw nothing that would work, so he waited until Ennis finally ripped it down one side and pulled out a card.
"Looks like maybe he didn't really want you to see it," Jack joked lightly, sitting down again.
Ennis looked serious, as if he hadn't even heard. He held the card in his hands, staring at the picture, but not opening it.
"What's it got on it?" Jack asked. He almost stood up to get a look, but figured maybe it wasn't any of his business.
Finally Ennis said, "It's got dogs on it," and turned it so Jack could see.
"When I was out there, I dreamed about dogs barking," Ennis said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, they sent search dogs out several times. You heard them?" Jack asked surprised. He didn't know if Ennis was stalling on opening the card, or if he just needed to get that thought out.
"I'm not sure....I dreamed a lot of weird stuff."
Jack stretched his neck to see the card better. He chuckled. "They're dressed up like doctors."
"This one here looks like the mutt me and K.E. had when we were kids," Ennis said, pointing to a fuzzy-headed tan dog wearing a white doctor jacket.
"Must be a get-well card," Jack said.
"Doesn't say on the front," Ennis said, still staring at the picture.
"Look inside," Jack encouraged.
Ennis slowly opened it and read aloud, "Doggone it....hope you get well soon."
Jack didn't know what thoughts were running through Ennis' head, but whatever they were must be something sad judging from the look of sorrow in his brown eyes.
"He wrote a letter on here." Ennis' voice was barely a whisper.
Jack wondered if he should leave while Ennis read it. He felt himself squirm in the chair. He got up.
"Don't go anyplace," Ennis said.
"I thought you might wanna read it in private."
"No....not unless you don't wanna hear it."
Jack sat back down. "Yeah, I'd like to hear what he wrote."
Ennis cleared his throat. "I don't think I ever got a letter from K.E. before," he said before he began reading.
Jack looked on at the printed words covering one side of the card as Ennis read.
"Dear Ennis, I'm glad you'll be okay. Sorry for what you went through. I looked for you but it was impossible to know where you were. Sure was lots of folks looking. It seems like you have a lot of new friends and that's good. A new job too. Working with horses is the right thing for you. You have everything you want up here. I can't be part of your new life and I know it's my own fault. You went to a lot of trouble hiding from me and I won't mess that up. You don't need me. I hope maybe someday you'll call me, and if I call you, please consider answering. Take care of yourself. No more getting lost in the forest, but if you do, I'll come look for you again. Your brother, K.E."
Ennis took a deep breath and blinked back tears threatening to spill.
Jack scooted forward a little to get a better look at the bag. "What else is in there?" he asked with a lump in his throat, hoping to lighten the mood.
Ennis reached in, still just feeling, not looking. His rustling created a crinkling sound.
"What it is? Why don't you bring it out so we can see?" Jack asked.
"Patience is a virtue; didn't anyone ever teach you that?" Ennis mumbled, pulling out a bag of Oreos. He smiled.
"Your favorite cookie," Jack said.
Finally Ennis opened the bag fully, taking a quick look inside. "This is it," he said, still smiling a crooked little smile.
Jack found it to be an amusing gift, and he was pleasantly surprised by the card and note. By the look on Ennis' face, Jack assumed he thought it was a nice gesture too. Could this dark cloud that was Ennis' brother finally have lifted?
God, he hoped so.
**********
Stretched out on the couch in their living room, Ennis muted the t.v. when the telephone rang. Jack answered and watched Ennis listen intently to his end of the short conversation.
"So, Don and Dorothy made it home okay, huh?" Ennis said when Jack hung up the phone.
"Yeah, safe and sound. Don said he'd call again in a couple days."
"I could have talked now. I'm not an invalid," Ennis grumbled.
"No one thinks you're an invalid," Jack assured him.
"Why am I lying on the couch like it's a bed then?"
"'Cause you need to rest....doctor's orders."
"I still feel like a dunce," Ennis said.
Jack joined his fella on the couch, lifting Ennis' legs to make room to sit, and then lowering them over his lap. "You're not a dunce," he said firmly, rubbing his hands over the denim clad legs he loved.
"I don't know when Dorothy had time to fix the casseroles that I saw in the refrigerator," Ennis said.
"One's from Herschel," Jack said.
"No kidding....wow."
"Yeah, like I told you before, everybody really pulled together during the crisis."
"Even my brother....well, sort of," Ennis said.
"In his own way," Jack said.
"I wonder how many days I'll have to stay off work," Ennis mumbled, as if thinking aloud.
"When you go in for your check-up, I'm sure the doctor will tell you then. It's your turn to see what I went through those weeks when you were working and I stayed home," Jack said.
"I'm anxious to get back to normal, that's for sure," Ennis said.
"Have I told you in the last hour how glad I am that you're back with me?" Jack asked.
Ennis smiled. "I'm glad I'm back here with you too. It's all I thought about when I was wandering around out there."
Silence filled the small room. The t.v. played with no sound. Jack wondered what Ennis had on his mind and hoped he wasn't fretting about his brother. As far as he was concerned, everything was all right and they shouldn't borrow trouble. Even Don had said he felt that K.E. would leave them be, especially when he heard about the encounter in the hospital lobby and the card and gift for Ennis.
Ennis yawned and stretched. Jack stood up and repositioned Ennis' legs on the couch. "You need an afghan?" he asked.
"No, I think I'm about ready to go up to bed," Ennis said tiredly.
"Sounds like a plan. Get a good night's sleep."
"So you can go to work in the morning, and I can sleep some more...." Ennis sounded none too pleased about his situation.
"I'll bet Herschel will come over to visit. That'll pass some time," Jack said.
"Can hardly wait," Ennis said.
Jack stood up and reached down to help pull Ennis up off the couch. "Let's go to bed, friend. It'll be a hell of a lot more comfortable than the chairs I slept on last night."
"Damn, I'm sorry about that," Ennis said. "Why didn't you get in bed with me?"
Jack snorted out a laugh. "Maybe because you'd have pushed me off the side?"
"I wouldn't have....that nurse seemed pretty open-minded, even assuming you'd help me shower. Did you notice that?"
"Yeah, I did. It was nice, wasn't it?"
"Yeah....it was."
"I'm glad you're seeing that not everyone's out to cause us trouble," Jack said.
"Maybe not even my brother," Ennis said.
"Maybe not," Jack answered.
TBC
today
yesterday