A Heart Disowned (Pt 4)
“Jen?”
Jensen startled awake, his bright, mossy green eyes darted toward Jared instantly, taking a moment to take in their surroundings. He looked up into those deep, dark hazel eyes with a sleepy smile on his face.
“Jared? You okay?” he asked as he straightened up, running a hand over his own face to bring himself to life again.
He watched as the man perched on the bed nodded, his gargantuan hands clutching at the white jacket that Jensen had draped over him last night. Jensen stood and raked both hands through his short, dirty-blonde hair and his smirk widened into a grin.
“Give me a few, yeah? I’m gonna go find you some clothes and I’m gonna promise you, this shit will never happen to you again.”
Jensen’s voice sounded like the much-needed strength that Jared needed and he nodded, holding the white coat against him until Jensen returned with a white shirt and blue pants. Jensen turned his back as Jared dressed and then, when Jensen took his chair again, Jared took the other one and he sat staring out the window.
“I really am sorry, Jared, this shit happened way outta my control but, just so ya know, you’re gonna have me here on call until I get your big ass straight,” Jensen promised and, hearing Jared’s scoff, he decided to revise that edition with a smirk. “Well, okay…not so much ‘straight’.”
He heard Jared snickering softly and Jensen easily joined in as he reached over and let his hand lay over the vast expanse of Jared’s hand as it rested on his knee. Shimmering green eyes met with smoky hazel and the two shared a warm and silent, knowing smile.
***
By noon, he nodded off time and again and when Jared finally called him on it and asked Jensen to play cards, Jensen pressed the nurse’s button and asked Sandy McCoy for a deck of cards. The truth was, after the second night in Jared’s room after working all day, Jensen could hardly hold his head up. So when Jared scooted over and offered Jensen a tight spot on his mattress, he was just dumb enough to consider that offer, lying above the sheets that covered Jared so that there would be no question to his motives both with the staff and with Jared.
When Jensen woke up the next morning with Jared’s gargantuan arms and legs splayed out all over Jensen’s entire body, he really shouldn’t have been surprised. At first, in his sleep, he’d stupidly snuggled into the furnace of warmth that surrounded his shivering form but, when he realized exactly where he was and who he was with, Jensen slowly extricated his body from that of Jared’s clingy form and he disappeared through the doorway, closing it behind him.
Raking both hands through his short, dirty-blonde hair as he stood just outside the doorway, Jensen swallowed all the emotions that raged through his mind, body, and soul and he headed down to the cafeteria. He walked carefully up to the next floor with a tray balanced with all the healthy stuff that he hated and he was sure that Jared would love.
“Jen,” came the soft, deep voice that Jensen had come to know by now. He smirked and gently kicked the unlocked door shut as he brought the tray closer, setting it on Jared’s lap. The man had gone from calling him Dr. Ackles, to Jensen, to Jen in just a couple of days. Hell, most of Jensen’s closest friends never called him that! But, somehow, with Jared, it was okay.
“About time you woke up, Sasquatch,” Jensen teased as he nibbled on a few things from the tray of brunch he’d laid across Jared’s lap. He snickered and rolled his eyes, leaning away as Jared laughingly attempted to feed him the grapes from the corner edge of the tray.
“Are we there yet?” Jared asked as he popped a grape into his own mouth and chewed, laughing outright when Jensen rolled his eyes again and sighed.
“Oh, please…don’t tell me you’re one of those!” Jensen retaliated with a hidden grin as he munched on a lettuce leaf from Jared’s salad. He just blinked when Jared attempted to force-feed him a tiny tomato, which Jensen finally accepted.
“Yep…I’m one of those,” Jared replied through a mouthful of crouton. “Has it been seventy-two hours yet?”
Jensen frowned as he looked down at his watch and he suddenly realized that it would be just that around seven that night. He exhaled softly and nodded.
“By tonight, same time you got here at seven, you oughta be free to go,” he said quietly and sipped on his drink, averting his gaze from those dark, hazel eyes. It didn’t matter, he could feel Jared staring into him. Jensen stole another tomato just to distract Jared.
“Jen?”
Jensen hesitantly looked to Jared, his expression a silent permission for him to continue.
“I…I got nowhere to go,” Jared murmured as he focused on the unfinished salad bowl.
“I kinda figured that,” Jensen replied as he nibbled on one of the crackers.
“You did?” Jared questioned and Jensen nodded, knowing the inevitable answer.
“Yeah. It’s not a problem. You’ll come home with me,” Jensen stated casually and, with another furtive glance in Jared’s direction, he grinned and added, “I mean, if you want to, just ‘til you get on your feet.”
Jensen found himself being richly rewarded with a brilliant, double-dimpled smile in return. It was decided.
Pt 5