Smoke & Lightning : Whatever Comes Our Way (28/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : Whatever Comes Our Way (28/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 2,378
Rating: Adult.
Summary: The boys have a new family and face a whole new set of challenges and possibilities. But they can handle it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
( master post)
The scream pierced the darkness causing Jared to snort through his nose and sit up, poker-straight. Jensen woke up too, but only after he felt Jared getting out of bed. He hadn't thought he could sleep anymore, but when his head had hit the pillow, he'd been dead to the world. Now, he felt like he was being dragged from a thick fog, unable to focus or get his bearings.
“What's going on?” Jensen asked, sitting up.
Jared was pulling on a pair of jeans, not bothering with his boxer briefs. “Nightmare,” he said. “I'll be back.”
It was then that Jensen could finally hear the soft sounds of Hannah crying in her room. He flopped back down on his pillow. “Need any help?” He knew Jared would refuse, but he felt better offering.
“Nah,” Jared said, getting up from the bed. “Go back to sleep.”
It wasn't often that Hannah had nightmares anymore. And even to this day, she couldn't tell you what they were about. Which was okay by Jared, because he had a feeling that he didn't want to know what had been so awful to scar her so deeply. Shuffling down the hall, he pushed Hannah's door open and found the little girl wide awake in her bed.
Smiling, Jared neared her. “Hey, banana,” he said.
“Daddy?”
When she was frightened, both Jared and Jensen were 'Daddy.' He smiled again and reached down to brush her hair away from her forehead. “Yeah, baby,” he said. He knelt beside her bed and leaned his elbows on the mattress. “You had another nightmare.”
With tear-filled eyes, Hannah gazed at him. “Daddy, I killed Maggie.”
Her words cut through him. She'd probably been agonizing over that fact for all this time, never saying a word because she believed it so true. He could relate. He still felt guilty for working on the tractor, instead of watching her ride like he was supposed to. He had chastised himself so many times for making Matty watch her while he worked on that damn tractor. It had been the backfire that had terrified Maggie. But no matter how much he'd felt it was his fault, Henry had used every ounce of energy he had to convince Jared that no one was at fault. “No, baby,” he said. “That was an accident. Maggie was hurt, and Maude and Henry had to make the decision of what would be best for her. She would have been in a lot of pain if they'd just patched her up.”
That didn't seem to comfort the child. She sobbed again, sniffling noisily. “But I was riding her and I didn't do it right.”
“Banana, you did everything right. There's not a horse in this world that doesn't have a few things they're afraid of, okay? And everybody that rides horses gets hurt at one point,” he told her. “Even if it's something little. Remember how Daddy fell off the first time he tried to lope?”
“Yeah,” she nodded.
“This is just a little setback, okay?” He smiled and brushed a finger over her cheek. “Maggie was a beautiful horse. But we'll find you another one, okay? And she'll be just as awesome as Maggie was.”
Hannah sniffled again, looking up at her father with shining, liquid eyes. “Can she live here?”
Jared chuckled. “Maybe,” he agreed. “We'd have a lot to do before a pony came and lived here. But if you help out, maybe that can happen. Alright?”
She nodded. She still didn't look happy, which Jared couldn't really blame her. She had gotten so attached to Maggie that the horse's death had been a big blow.
“Are you alright? Or do you want me to stay?”
“Stay,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he returned. He stood up and gently inched her over in her bed before climbing in with her. The bed was ridiculously small, and it was a tight fit, but he sucked it up. It meant a lot to her to have him stay. It was only a few hours until dawn, anyway. He curled his arm around his little girl and snuggled her close. In a matter of minutes they were both sleeping soundly.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but Jensen had managed to sprawl out on both sides of the bed, half on his side, and half on his stomach. When the phone rang, he woke with a start, wondering if it was Hannah screaming again. When he realized it was his cell phone, he grumbled something to himself and untangled himself from the blankets enough to turn over and grab the ringing phone from the nightstand. “Hello,” he said, his voice thick with sleep.
“Sorry to wake you, Jen,” came a gruff voice.
“Jeff?” he said, his brow crunching into a frown. “What's going on?”
“Stevie's in the ER,” he told him, worry in his voice. “She's early, Jen. Will she be okay if it happens tonight?”
Jensen paused long enough to rub at his eyes and do a quick calculation in his head. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, she should be. The baby'll probably be small, but everything should be okay.”
“Lungs and brain and toes are all developed?”
Jensen chuckled, nodding his head even though he knew Jeff couldn't see him. “Yes, everything,” he agreed. “Want some company?”
“You guys up to it?”
“I'll call Kenzie,” he said. “Her and Phin will be more than happy to come over here and watch our kids and eat our food while we're gone for the day.” He said goodbye to Jeffrey and climbed out of bed. Jared hadn't come back from Hannah's room, so either the little girl was awake still, or he'd stayed in the room with her. It was probably the latter. After a nightmare, she slept much better with her father nearby. He dressed in a pair of exercise pants, the bright white stripes down the sides of the legs seeming to glow in the moonlight pouring through the doors to the small patio outside their room. He rummaged through the laundry basket until he found a T-shirt, not really caring if it was his or Jared's. Then, with his feet bare, he padded down the hallway to Hannah's room. He peeked around the door casing, finding Jared on his side, his back to the entryway. His legs dangled off the bottom of the mattress, and he was dangerously close to the edge, but he was still sound asleep, as was Hannah. Resting his knees against Jared's back, Jensen rubbed at the man's shoulder, gently rousing him from his slumber.
“Hey,” he whispered.
Jared turned as much as he could without tumbling off the bed and taking Jensen with him when he did. “Hey,” he said, his voice hoarse from sleep. He reached up, setting a hand to Jensen's waist. “What's up?”
“Stevie's gone into the ER,” he explained, keeping his voice quiet so that he didn't wake Hannah.
“Shit,” Jared cursed. “Is she okay?”
Jensen nodded. “She'll probably have the baby in a few hours,” he said. “But it's okay. Everything should be alright.”
“So, we going?”
“I'm going to call Kenzie,” he said. “I figured her and Phin could come over and sit for us.”
“Sounds good.”
“You have a little while, okay? It'll take her time to get here. I'm going to go make some coffee and breakfast. You can stay with the banana.”
“Okay,” he agreed with a nod. Jensen started to back away, but Jared reached for him again. “Hey.”
“What?”
Smiling, Jared tugged gently at the hem of the T-shirt Jensen had on. “I like when you wear my stuff,” he told him.
Jensen didn't say anything. Instead, he returned the smile and leaned down to give Jared a slow, soft kiss. A low moan escaped Jared's throat, making Jensen chuckle quietly. He pulled away, brushed Jared's longish hair away from his face and told him to go back to sleep.
Jeff wasn't in the waiting room when they got there, but that was hardly what they'd expected. He was in the delivery room, no doubt, helping Stevie deliver their third child. Sitting there, watching mindless TV, Jensen thought about how far they'd all come. Jensen was in his last year of high school when Jeff and Stevie had met because of him. And he'd met Jared because of stupid Doug Freeman. He supposed he owed the guy one for that. Though, with all the beatings he'd received, he was pretty sure it evened out.
“What are you thinking about?” Jared chuckled, stepping into the waiting room with two cups of coffee in his hands.
Brought back to the present, Jensen looked up and shook his head, blinking hard. “Oh, nothing really,” he said, accepting the cup of coffee passed to him.
“Well, nothing left a sappy grin on your face,” Jared told him, sitting down next to him.
Jensen laughed, nodding his head. “Okay,” he agreed after a sip of coffee. “I was thinking about how Stevie and Jeff met because of me, and how I met you because of Doug Freeman.”
“Fucking asshole.”
“Jay,” he tried to reprimand, even though he thought it was pretty funny. “It's ancient history.”
“Doesn't mean I have to send him a touching thank you card,” Jared reminded him.
Jensen watched Jared settle in next to him, his arm draped along the back of the uncomfortable, metal-frame sofa, unconsciously being protective of Jensen. Jared took a sip of his coffee, seeming oblivious to Jensen's gaze. Finally, he turned and saw the goofy smile on Jensen's face.
“What?” he asked.
Still smiling, Jensen shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “I just might send Doug a thank you card.”
“Over my dead body,” he returned.
“Hey, guys,” came Jeff's voice.
Both Jared and Jensen turned to see the man stepping closer to them, dressed in green scrubs.
“Hey, man,” Jared said, reaching out to embrace his father. “What's going on?”
“You have a new sister,” Jeff said with a shy smile.
Jared whooped and Jensen took his turn, embracing Jeff. “That's awesome,” Jensen said to him. “What'd you name her?”
“Stevie named her,” he explained. “Jemma. Didn't even let me vote on it. Five pounds, thirteen ounces.”
“Great job, Dad,” Jared cheered, slapping Jeff on the shoulder.
“I'm going to go back with Stevie again, but I'll come out and take you to see the baby in a little bit, okay?”
While they waited, Jensen called Kenzie and Phin to see how the kids were doing. The adults were still alive, so Jensen considered that a win, and hung up.
“How's it going?” Jared asked, looking down at his iPad.
“Kenzie says they're fine. They just went over to Maude and Henry's to give Hannah her horse-fix,” he said. “And Phin says we need more ice cream.”
Annoyed, Jared looked at him. “Bastard ate all my Peanut Butter Pandemonium?” he asked with an accusatory tone.
“I guess,” Jensen laughed.
“It's not even lunch yet.”
Jensen chuckled again, shaking his head. He looked down at the iPad, seeing that Jared was in his email from the shop in LA. “What's going on?”
“Oh, LA shit,” he said, poking at the pad screen. “I'll have to go there soon and take care of some stuff.”
“It's nothing they can do on their own?”
“Eh,” he said, setting his hand out flat, palm-down, and wiggling it from side to side in a motion that said, “so-so.” He looked back down at the pad. “Not all of it. I'd just feel better doing it myself. And I haven't been there in a while. I should go make sure it's really not burnt to the ground, with them shining me on this whole time.”
Jensen looped his arm around Jared's and sat there close to him. “You're right,” he agreed. “Maybe Kenzie will stay with me while you're gone.”
“Keep Phin away from my fucking ice cream.”
Although Jared said it with a smile, Jensen decided he'd have to buy extra ice cream when Phin was around.
Matty followed his father down the stairs, carrying the overnight bag. Regardless of how long Jared was away, he never took more than what could fit in the carry-on. “How long will you be gone?” Matty asked.
“Just a week or so,” Jared said. He smiled and turned to Matty to show the boy he was grinning. “Why, you gonna miss me?”
“You wish,” Matty returned. He was getting old enough to really have fun mock fighting with Jared. “I just want to know how long I'll have freedom for.”
“Oh, burn,” Jared snickered. “Good one.”
Matty put the carry-on by the door and joined Jared in the kitchen. He sat on a bar stool and looked up at his father. “So, the usual?”
Jared laughed, crunching on some green grapes he'd taken out of the fridge. “The usual,” he nodded. “You're second in charge. Got it?”
“Got it,” Matty nodded. He reached over and plucked a few grapes off the vine in the bowl.
“Help with Hannah,” Jared continued. “Give Daddy breaks. Help Kenzie. Don't help with the laundry. I don't need anymore pink underwear, thank you.”
Matty laughed. “Got it,” he said again. “Can I have Jacob over?”
Thinking for a moment, Jared squinted one eye at him. “Only for a couple hours,” he said.
In a flash, Matty jumped down from the stool and made a mad dash for the telephone.
“If your Daddy agrees!” Jared called after him.
On cue, Jensen entered the kitchen, pulling up the sleeves to the thermal shirt he usually wore underneath his scrubs. “Daddy agrees,” he said. He moved to the coffee machine, feigning shock when Jared smacked him on his backside. “You ready to go?”
“When am I not?” Jared returned with a sly smile.
“Ha, ha,” Jensen sniggered. He twisted a cap onto a travel mug. “What time are you off?”
“Plane leaves at eleven,” he said.
“Well, let's head out then,” he smiled. “And, you'd better buy me something pretty while you're away.”
tbc
P.S. MASTERPOST NOW FULLY UPDATED. :)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 2,378
Rating: Adult.
Summary: The boys have a new family and face a whole new set of challenges and possibilities. But they can handle it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
( master post)
The scream pierced the darkness causing Jared to snort through his nose and sit up, poker-straight. Jensen woke up too, but only after he felt Jared getting out of bed. He hadn't thought he could sleep anymore, but when his head had hit the pillow, he'd been dead to the world. Now, he felt like he was being dragged from a thick fog, unable to focus or get his bearings.
“What's going on?” Jensen asked, sitting up.
Jared was pulling on a pair of jeans, not bothering with his boxer briefs. “Nightmare,” he said. “I'll be back.”
It was then that Jensen could finally hear the soft sounds of Hannah crying in her room. He flopped back down on his pillow. “Need any help?” He knew Jared would refuse, but he felt better offering.
“Nah,” Jared said, getting up from the bed. “Go back to sleep.”
It wasn't often that Hannah had nightmares anymore. And even to this day, she couldn't tell you what they were about. Which was okay by Jared, because he had a feeling that he didn't want to know what had been so awful to scar her so deeply. Shuffling down the hall, he pushed Hannah's door open and found the little girl wide awake in her bed.
Smiling, Jared neared her. “Hey, banana,” he said.
“Daddy?”
When she was frightened, both Jared and Jensen were 'Daddy.' He smiled again and reached down to brush her hair away from her forehead. “Yeah, baby,” he said. He knelt beside her bed and leaned his elbows on the mattress. “You had another nightmare.”
With tear-filled eyes, Hannah gazed at him. “Daddy, I killed Maggie.”
Her words cut through him. She'd probably been agonizing over that fact for all this time, never saying a word because she believed it so true. He could relate. He still felt guilty for working on the tractor, instead of watching her ride like he was supposed to. He had chastised himself so many times for making Matty watch her while he worked on that damn tractor. It had been the backfire that had terrified Maggie. But no matter how much he'd felt it was his fault, Henry had used every ounce of energy he had to convince Jared that no one was at fault. “No, baby,” he said. “That was an accident. Maggie was hurt, and Maude and Henry had to make the decision of what would be best for her. She would have been in a lot of pain if they'd just patched her up.”
That didn't seem to comfort the child. She sobbed again, sniffling noisily. “But I was riding her and I didn't do it right.”
“Banana, you did everything right. There's not a horse in this world that doesn't have a few things they're afraid of, okay? And everybody that rides horses gets hurt at one point,” he told her. “Even if it's something little. Remember how Daddy fell off the first time he tried to lope?”
“Yeah,” she nodded.
“This is just a little setback, okay?” He smiled and brushed a finger over her cheek. “Maggie was a beautiful horse. But we'll find you another one, okay? And she'll be just as awesome as Maggie was.”
Hannah sniffled again, looking up at her father with shining, liquid eyes. “Can she live here?”
Jared chuckled. “Maybe,” he agreed. “We'd have a lot to do before a pony came and lived here. But if you help out, maybe that can happen. Alright?”
She nodded. She still didn't look happy, which Jared couldn't really blame her. She had gotten so attached to Maggie that the horse's death had been a big blow.
“Are you alright? Or do you want me to stay?”
“Stay,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he returned. He stood up and gently inched her over in her bed before climbing in with her. The bed was ridiculously small, and it was a tight fit, but he sucked it up. It meant a lot to her to have him stay. It was only a few hours until dawn, anyway. He curled his arm around his little girl and snuggled her close. In a matter of minutes they were both sleeping soundly.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but Jensen had managed to sprawl out on both sides of the bed, half on his side, and half on his stomach. When the phone rang, he woke with a start, wondering if it was Hannah screaming again. When he realized it was his cell phone, he grumbled something to himself and untangled himself from the blankets enough to turn over and grab the ringing phone from the nightstand. “Hello,” he said, his voice thick with sleep.
“Sorry to wake you, Jen,” came a gruff voice.
“Jeff?” he said, his brow crunching into a frown. “What's going on?”
“Stevie's in the ER,” he told him, worry in his voice. “She's early, Jen. Will she be okay if it happens tonight?”
Jensen paused long enough to rub at his eyes and do a quick calculation in his head. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, she should be. The baby'll probably be small, but everything should be okay.”
“Lungs and brain and toes are all developed?”
Jensen chuckled, nodding his head even though he knew Jeff couldn't see him. “Yes, everything,” he agreed. “Want some company?”
“You guys up to it?”
“I'll call Kenzie,” he said. “Her and Phin will be more than happy to come over here and watch our kids and eat our food while we're gone for the day.” He said goodbye to Jeffrey and climbed out of bed. Jared hadn't come back from Hannah's room, so either the little girl was awake still, or he'd stayed in the room with her. It was probably the latter. After a nightmare, she slept much better with her father nearby. He dressed in a pair of exercise pants, the bright white stripes down the sides of the legs seeming to glow in the moonlight pouring through the doors to the small patio outside their room. He rummaged through the laundry basket until he found a T-shirt, not really caring if it was his or Jared's. Then, with his feet bare, he padded down the hallway to Hannah's room. He peeked around the door casing, finding Jared on his side, his back to the entryway. His legs dangled off the bottom of the mattress, and he was dangerously close to the edge, but he was still sound asleep, as was Hannah. Resting his knees against Jared's back, Jensen rubbed at the man's shoulder, gently rousing him from his slumber.
“Hey,” he whispered.
Jared turned as much as he could without tumbling off the bed and taking Jensen with him when he did. “Hey,” he said, his voice hoarse from sleep. He reached up, setting a hand to Jensen's waist. “What's up?”
“Stevie's gone into the ER,” he explained, keeping his voice quiet so that he didn't wake Hannah.
“Shit,” Jared cursed. “Is she okay?”
Jensen nodded. “She'll probably have the baby in a few hours,” he said. “But it's okay. Everything should be alright.”
“So, we going?”
“I'm going to call Kenzie,” he said. “I figured her and Phin could come over and sit for us.”
“Sounds good.”
“You have a little while, okay? It'll take her time to get here. I'm going to go make some coffee and breakfast. You can stay with the banana.”
“Okay,” he agreed with a nod. Jensen started to back away, but Jared reached for him again. “Hey.”
“What?”
Smiling, Jared tugged gently at the hem of the T-shirt Jensen had on. “I like when you wear my stuff,” he told him.
Jensen didn't say anything. Instead, he returned the smile and leaned down to give Jared a slow, soft kiss. A low moan escaped Jared's throat, making Jensen chuckle quietly. He pulled away, brushed Jared's longish hair away from his face and told him to go back to sleep.
Jeff wasn't in the waiting room when they got there, but that was hardly what they'd expected. He was in the delivery room, no doubt, helping Stevie deliver their third child. Sitting there, watching mindless TV, Jensen thought about how far they'd all come. Jensen was in his last year of high school when Jeff and Stevie had met because of him. And he'd met Jared because of stupid Doug Freeman. He supposed he owed the guy one for that. Though, with all the beatings he'd received, he was pretty sure it evened out.
“What are you thinking about?” Jared chuckled, stepping into the waiting room with two cups of coffee in his hands.
Brought back to the present, Jensen looked up and shook his head, blinking hard. “Oh, nothing really,” he said, accepting the cup of coffee passed to him.
“Well, nothing left a sappy grin on your face,” Jared told him, sitting down next to him.
Jensen laughed, nodding his head. “Okay,” he agreed after a sip of coffee. “I was thinking about how Stevie and Jeff met because of me, and how I met you because of Doug Freeman.”
“Fucking asshole.”
“Jay,” he tried to reprimand, even though he thought it was pretty funny. “It's ancient history.”
“Doesn't mean I have to send him a touching thank you card,” Jared reminded him.
Jensen watched Jared settle in next to him, his arm draped along the back of the uncomfortable, metal-frame sofa, unconsciously being protective of Jensen. Jared took a sip of his coffee, seeming oblivious to Jensen's gaze. Finally, he turned and saw the goofy smile on Jensen's face.
“What?” he asked.
Still smiling, Jensen shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “I just might send Doug a thank you card.”
“Over my dead body,” he returned.
“Hey, guys,” came Jeff's voice.
Both Jared and Jensen turned to see the man stepping closer to them, dressed in green scrubs.
“Hey, man,” Jared said, reaching out to embrace his father. “What's going on?”
“You have a new sister,” Jeff said with a shy smile.
Jared whooped and Jensen took his turn, embracing Jeff. “That's awesome,” Jensen said to him. “What'd you name her?”
“Stevie named her,” he explained. “Jemma. Didn't even let me vote on it. Five pounds, thirteen ounces.”
“Great job, Dad,” Jared cheered, slapping Jeff on the shoulder.
“I'm going to go back with Stevie again, but I'll come out and take you to see the baby in a little bit, okay?”
While they waited, Jensen called Kenzie and Phin to see how the kids were doing. The adults were still alive, so Jensen considered that a win, and hung up.
“How's it going?” Jared asked, looking down at his iPad.
“Kenzie says they're fine. They just went over to Maude and Henry's to give Hannah her horse-fix,” he said. “And Phin says we need more ice cream.”
Annoyed, Jared looked at him. “Bastard ate all my Peanut Butter Pandemonium?” he asked with an accusatory tone.
“I guess,” Jensen laughed.
“It's not even lunch yet.”
Jensen chuckled again, shaking his head. He looked down at the iPad, seeing that Jared was in his email from the shop in LA. “What's going on?”
“Oh, LA shit,” he said, poking at the pad screen. “I'll have to go there soon and take care of some stuff.”
“It's nothing they can do on their own?”
“Eh,” he said, setting his hand out flat, palm-down, and wiggling it from side to side in a motion that said, “so-so.” He looked back down at the pad. “Not all of it. I'd just feel better doing it myself. And I haven't been there in a while. I should go make sure it's really not burnt to the ground, with them shining me on this whole time.”
Jensen looped his arm around Jared's and sat there close to him. “You're right,” he agreed. “Maybe Kenzie will stay with me while you're gone.”
“Keep Phin away from my fucking ice cream.”
Although Jared said it with a smile, Jensen decided he'd have to buy extra ice cream when Phin was around.
Matty followed his father down the stairs, carrying the overnight bag. Regardless of how long Jared was away, he never took more than what could fit in the carry-on. “How long will you be gone?” Matty asked.
“Just a week or so,” Jared said. He smiled and turned to Matty to show the boy he was grinning. “Why, you gonna miss me?”
“You wish,” Matty returned. He was getting old enough to really have fun mock fighting with Jared. “I just want to know how long I'll have freedom for.”
“Oh, burn,” Jared snickered. “Good one.”
Matty put the carry-on by the door and joined Jared in the kitchen. He sat on a bar stool and looked up at his father. “So, the usual?”
Jared laughed, crunching on some green grapes he'd taken out of the fridge. “The usual,” he nodded. “You're second in charge. Got it?”
“Got it,” Matty nodded. He reached over and plucked a few grapes off the vine in the bowl.
“Help with Hannah,” Jared continued. “Give Daddy breaks. Help Kenzie. Don't help with the laundry. I don't need anymore pink underwear, thank you.”
Matty laughed. “Got it,” he said again. “Can I have Jacob over?”
Thinking for a moment, Jared squinted one eye at him. “Only for a couple hours,” he said.
In a flash, Matty jumped down from the stool and made a mad dash for the telephone.
“If your Daddy agrees!” Jared called after him.
On cue, Jensen entered the kitchen, pulling up the sleeves to the thermal shirt he usually wore underneath his scrubs. “Daddy agrees,” he said. He moved to the coffee machine, feigning shock when Jared smacked him on his backside. “You ready to go?”
“When am I not?” Jared returned with a sly smile.
“Ha, ha,” Jensen sniggered. He twisted a cap onto a travel mug. “What time are you off?”
“Plane leaves at eleven,” he said.
“Well, let's head out then,” he smiled. “And, you'd better buy me something pretty while you're away.”
tbc
P.S. MASTERPOST NOW FULLY UPDATED. :)