Chapter Eight

[bloody_adorable]

You know, Evil and I were talking, and she asked if *I* wanted to post this. I never answered her, (oops!) so I figured I'd put this chapter up this time. (Evil, you'll have to post to the groups you usually post to, that's all!)

This doesn't look as nifty as when Evil posts, but here it is all the same. I've read it over as best I can, but I'm sure there's a mistake here and there. I'll be correcting it as I find them, I'm sure. And be horrified when I find the little mistakes.

For those of you saving the chapters, we might do a whole big file like we did/were going to for Heavy Metal Thunder. So don't readily save this one, as I may be fixing tiny things here and there.

Yes, shutting up now.

Title: Smoke And Lightning: Born To Be Wild (8/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 4,923
Summary: AU. They're born to be wild. At least, Jared is. Jensen's learning, though, and this road-trip that they're on will teach him plenty of lessons. It's a good thing, too, because he'll need what he's learnt when they return and venture onto an altogether more serious step in their relationship. Trust is a major aspect for the both of them and Jensen's will be tested to breaking point as the boys learn how they'll cope together on the road...and off it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.



CHAPTER EIGHT

By the second day of working on the farm, Jensen had used up what they'd had left of the sunscreen, and he knew he was going to regret it. He was going to burn to a crisp. But, the work was pretty constant, and Jensen liked most if it much more than he thought he was going to.

He wasn't a fan of fencing, he found. He had a number of digs to his arms, and a couple to his clothes, where the barbed wire had bitten. "I thought nobody used barbed wire anymore," he said to another farm hand. "I thought all farmers used electric fences now."

Lamont, another short-term worker, looked over at him, his ebony skin beaded with sweat. "Buck don't like electric fences," Lamont explained. "Says they can hurt the animals worse than the barbs, here in the back twenty."

Jensen only mumbled in return. He had finished his job, of course, but he had requested not to work on the fencing again. Instead, he and Jared traded. Jensen got to work in the barn, which pleased him and his tender skin, and Jared got to be out in the sun where he preferred it.

Around midday, they got a break. Lunch wasn't served, but Jared found there was usually something they could scrounge, even if it was just an apple or two. He remembered a bowl of them on the table inside Buck and Selma's home. Making sure he wasn't watched, Jared crept back into the house and grabbed two of the red apples off the table where they'd had dinner. With lunch settled, he headed out back outside.

By the small bunkhouse, Lamont looked like he had a stash of Army MRE food, but he didn't look too keen on sharing. Jared only grabbed a drink at the pump by the bunkhouse and moved on. The rest of the workers either just lazed about, stayed working, or dug into a lunch they had gotten from somewhere.

It took him a few minutes, but after looking, Jared finally found Jensen sitting out on the fence, staring into the corral. Inside was a big, black, horned Spanish bull.

Stepping closer, Jared draped his arms over the top rail of the fence where Jensen was sitting. He handed him one of the apples. "What's with the bull?"

Jensen looked down to him then back out to the bull, shrugging. "I dunno," he mumbled. "He's kinda pretty."

Jared grinned, taking a bite from his apple. "You say that to all the studs."

He rolled his eyes. "Seems all the studs say that to you," he corrected. He picked at the stem of the apple seemingly uninterested in it.

"Aw, someone's jealous," Jared teased.

Sighing, Jensen brushed off his jeans in a futile attempt to rid himself of the dust gathered there. "Can you blame me?"

Jared recognized the seriousness in Jensen's voice. His smile faded and he nudged the man's hip with his fist. "What's eating you?"

It took Jensen a good while to answer. He took another deep breath, but didn't sigh this time, just gazing out at the black bull for few moments. "I don't know," he finally said. "I just want to go home."

"Am I that insufferable?"

"Yes," he answered truthfully. "And no. I guess I'm just thinking too much."

"'Bout what?"

Another sigh, this time more audible than the first one. Jensen gazed out at the flat, never-ending landscape. "What are we going to do, Jay?"

He didn't bother hiding the confusion on his face. "What are we going to do about what?"

"We're going to be living together."

"And?" he returned. "We've been living together for how long now?"

"Yeah, but we've always had Jeff and Stevie there as buffers," he reminded him. "As help. Now, we're going to be like a real couple. With bills and responsibilities."

Jared chuckled, nodding his head. "I'm pretty sure that's how it goes, Jen," he said, talking around a hunk of apple in his mouth. "It's called 'making a life together.'"

"But what if it doesn't work?" he asked, turning to look at Jared. "What if we end up hating each other?"

Jared's eyelashes fluttered as he rolled his eyes slightly. He pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Don't blow me off, Jared," Jensen warned. "Don't tell me I'm being a girl or a pussy or whatever. This is legitimate."

Jared held up his hands, apple clutched between his index and thumb. For the first time, he saw how his previous digs had hurt Jensen's feelings and felt remorse tug at his heart. When he saw that the young man had calmed slightly he leaned against the fence again. "First of all," he said, "it'd take a hell of a lot for me to hate you. Second, do you think you're the only one, gay or straight, who's been in a slightly complicated relationship?"

"No," he said, slightly annoyed. Because, he sort of had been thinking like that. "I just...You're going to be working. I'm going to be in school. It's gonna suck."

"Eh, we'll meet in the middle of the night."

"And have sex."

Jared smiled. "It's like you know me."

Jensen scoffed, frustrated. "Is that all you think about?"

He chuckled. "Not my fault," he argued with a shrug. "If you weren't so fucking fantastic at it, I wouldn't think about it all the time. You're a victim of your own success, you know."

Jensen smiled at that, but still didn't seem convinced. "It's gonna suck," he said again, with more emotion.

"Yes, it will," he agreed. "But not for long. Eventually, things are going to settle down and even out. And then, y'know, maybe life won't be so bad. And if we still like each other by then, we'll see where it takes us."

"And if we don't?"

"Then I'm kickin' your ass out, and keeping the dog."

Jensen smiled and snorted out a laugh. They didn't have a dog, but it was fun to argue over the imaginary pet. "As if," he said. "The dog's mine."

"Nuh-uh," Jared argued, shaking his head. "I feed the damn thing."

"I walk him."

"He likes me better."

"He makes you think he likes you better. I sneak him bacon on the side."

Just when he thought no day could be harder than the one before, Jensen was proved wrong. Working in the barn had entailed more than just moving hay, mucking stalls, cleaning tack, and feeding the animals. He had to cart fifty pound bags of grain from the barn to a pickup so that the animals in the back acreage could get fed too. He had to help truck water out to where the running water hadn't yet been installed. He had to dredge the pond that the horses used to cool down in, narrowly avoiding getting kicked by a nitpicking mare.

At midday, Jensen didn't even see Jared. He was brought into town to pick up a shipment of lumber, nails, and other building equipment, and when he got back he and a few of the other guys started on building a new lean-to shelter for the cows and horses in the south field.

Somewhere around six o'clock, someone told him to stop working. He realized, at that moment, that he had been working for quite some time by rote, and wasn't even aware of himself or his surroundings. He was dead tired.

He and Jared finally saw each other at dinner. They were dusty, dirty, sweaty and tired, but they joined in on the conversation when they could. Sitting across from each other, their eyes met now and again, entire conversations held in just their gaze. They were dirty, tired, and sunburned. They loved each other. They were homesick and ready to collect their money and go home.

The tent had never looked so good.

"Oh, I love you, home sweet home," Jared sighed, slumping down to slide open the zipper. He crawled inside and flopped down on the blankets, face down, quickly followed by Jensen.

"Get the door," Jensen mumbled, his words muffled against the borrowed pillow.

"I did last night. Your turn," Jared returned, just as exhausted.

Grumbling, and with great effort, Jensen sat up and zipped the tent closed, blocking it off to any more mosquitoes that would have loved to have had a feast for the night.

After flopping back down onto the blankets, this time on his back, Jensen quickly felt his eyes grow heavy. Jared was silent, his breathing slow and even. He thought he was asleep until the man spoke.

"We gotta get our money and go," Jared said, his voice gruff. "I'm too old for this."

Jensen chuckled. "Yeah, twenty-four is ancient."

"I'm not twenty-four," he returned.

Alerted, Jensen looked at him. He tried to laugh off his concern. "What?" he scoffed. "Yes, you are."

"No, I'm really not."

Jensen propped himself up on his elbows and looked over at Jared, who was still sprawled out on his belly, head turned away from him. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm twenty-five now," Jared said. He closed his eyes and yawned loudly, sighing heavily. "My birthday was today. I'm officially an old man."

Jensen hadn't ever heard that turning twenty-five made you an old man, and he was going to say such a thing to Jared, but he was too busy being stunned. "What do you mean, your birthday was today?"

Jared only mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"Jared."

"What?"

"Are you lying?"

"Why would I lie about that?"

Jensen sat up, crisscrossing his long legs as turned to face Jared better. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

"What does it matter?" Jared asked, his position unchanged.

"It matters because it's your birthday, butthead," he said to him.

Finally, Jared moved. He sat up enough to look at Jensen, leaning against his elbows. "What does it matter?" he asked. "It's not like you had the money to get me anything. We're broke, so we can't go out to celebrate. It's just another day."

"Well, it's not to me."

Jared rolled his eyes. He turned onto his back and draped his arm over his eyes. "Well, I'm sorry I ruined my birthday for you."

Jensen thought about his words and frowned. Jared had a point. Sighing, he stretched out beside him, carefully moving Jared's arm so that he could look down at him. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Forget about it," Jared said, meeting his gaze. "We're both tired as fuck."

They were tired and dirty, and wouldn't wash up until morning, but Jensen felt the need to offer Jared a little something. "Do you want your birthday present?"

Jared smiled. "Does it involve you crawling down my body and using that pretty mouth in dirty, dirty ways?"

Jensen nodded and chuckled. "Yes, it does."

Jared touched Jensen's face, giving him a grateful grin. "I appreciate the thought," he told him. "But I'm going to take a rain check this time."

"Okay."

Jared was ready to curl up and forget about life for a few hours, but Jensen was making it difficult. He was rustling through his things, searching for something. "What are you doing?" Jared finally asked.

"I need to mark this down."

"What?"

"The fact that you turned down sex," Jensen said. "It's monumental."

Jared threw his pillow at Jensen, but smiled anyway.

"Come on."

Jensen turned, his gaze falling to Jared. "What?"

"We gotta go."

He opened his arms, shrugging his shoulders. "Go where?"

"A place." Jared picked up Jensen's helmet off of the back of the bike and tossed it at him. "C'mon. Now."

"God," he complained with a smile. "Pushy bastard."

They'd finished their chores early that night, and had breezed through dinner. Jared needed some time to blow off some steam. He'd been cooped up for too long. As Jensen neared him, Jared returned the man's grin and leaned in closer. "Thank me later," he said quickly before pressing a kiss to the young man's cheek.

Jensen chuckled again, rolling his eyes. As Jared donned his helmet over his Harley Davidson skull cap, Jensen did the same and climbed onto the back of the motorcycle. He'd thought they were in for an early night, ready to stretch out in the tent and relax. Somehow, Jared had gotten wind of a party, he was sure of it. The man had radar that would shame the military.

Sure enough, the back roads they took far too fast on the bike, led them to an old park, far from the farm and it's early waking hour the next morning. The playground equipment in the park had long since been removed. All that remained was a covered, cement-and-rock pavilion. A low wall circled the structure; pillars of rock and cement held up the peaked roof. Two entryways arched up high, walkways marked out runway-style with citronella torches, anchored in the ground with bamboo pikes. Underneath the roof were a few rusted-out grills that had once been used, in better days, for grilling fourth-of-July burgers and family reunion hot dogs. In the center of the pavilion, a crude fire place had been constructed; a good-sized fire burned there.

Jared let the bike roll to a stop and set the kickstand. He leaned the bike and removed his helmet, throwing a smile back at Jensen. "Well, lookie there," he said.

Jensen shook his head. "How on earth do you find out about these things?"

Jared got off the bike and pulled Jensen off too. "Come on," he encouraged.

"I thought we were broke."

Jared shrugged. "I saved this for an emergency."

"An emergency party?" After removing his helmet, Jensen ran his fingers through his short hair. "We don't know anyone."

"They don't all know each other," he returned. "This is just the make-out place."

Stunned, Jensen smacked Jared's shoulder, knocking him off balance. "You brought me parking?" he asked.

Jared laughed and shrugged at him. "We ran out of gas."

"Ha, that's the oldest trick in the book." Regardless of his complaints, he liked what Jared had done. His good feelings quickly faded though when he came face to face with some of the kids there. Boy, girl, boy, girl. He turned and surveyed the opposite side of the pavilion. Boy, girl, boy girl. Some of them turned and watched the newcomers, looking them up and down before returning to their dates.

"What's wrong?"

Jensen looked up at Jared, swallowing nervously. "We should go," he said.

"Why? Come on, look. The beer is chilling, the fire is keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Let's just have a good time. Maybe we'll even make a friend or two."

Jensen took a step closer to him. "Jay, have you noticed?"

"How uptight you're being? Yes, I have."

He frowned at him. "No," he argued. "This is all co-ed. There isn't another couple here...like us."

"You didn't mind at the foam party."

Jensen gave him an exasperated look. "The foam party wasn't boy-girl," he said. "And in case you haven't noticed, this is."

Jared smiled brightly. "Maybe that's a good thing." He took hold of Jensen's collar and pulled him towards the doorway to the pavilion. "Maybe we can teach them a thing or two."

Though he didn't agree, Jensen let Jared pull him out into the darkness. Just outside the pavilion, Jared maneuvered them around one of the torches, pushed him up against the pillar and leaned his body against Jensen's. He smiled down at him, elbows bent and resting at either side of Jensen's head, before he leaned in closer to kiss him. Jensen felt his stomach instantly flip, not only because of the heat in the kiss, but because one of the couples there might see them kissing. He'd had enough of the hate crimes to be wary, regardless of how he had let himself go at the foam party. Regardless of how strong Jared had made him.

Suddenly, with Jared's hands slipping underneath the hem of his T-shirt, the world faded somewhat. Jensen didn't feel the other peoples' gazes upon him, but knew they were still there, lurking. Something could still go wrong. Jared traced his tongue along Jensen's bottom lip, kissed him tenderly, lovingly, then nosed his head to the side to find the places on his neck he knew would make Jensen squirm. His hands grazed up Jensen's chest to find the nipple ring, fingers circling and rubbing.

Closing his eyes, Jensen lost himself in the feel of Jared's mouth, how it made him both relax and tense at the same time. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his breathing calm and regular, a futile attempt when Jared had his mouth on him. Reaching up, Jensen took hold of the skull cap Jared was wearing and pulled it from his head. He dropped it beside them, down to the ground, and threaded his fingers through Jared's short, soft waves, pulling him down harder. Jared responded with teeth and tongue against the taut skin of Jensen's neck, making Jensen moan softly.

Jared moved to kiss him again. His hands slid back down Jensen's abdomen, fingers grazing lightly over his stomach, tracing the faint lines of muscle there. He needed to feel Jensen against him, which led him to tug at the young man's belt until it loosened. He popped the button on Jensen's jeans and slid the zipper down, sneaking his hand inside.

Jensen let him, even though he felt it was too bold a move out here where there were others that could see. Behind closed doors was different. Even at the club that night -- it had been around others that understood. This could lead to a brutal beating from a homophobe or two, if there were any around. Thoughts of Doug, of Argo, suddenly filled his head. Still, he pushed up into Jared's hand, unable to help himself. He let his head fall back to rest against the pillar, once more exposing his neck to Jared, who took full advantage of it. Jensen's eyes drifted closed, his hands tightened in Jared's hair. Regardless of his previous efforts, with Jared's tongue and teeth and hands, his breathing was more labored than before.

It was a little awkward to stroke Jensen with his jeans restricting his movements, but Jared kept on. Jensen's belt buckle clanked softly with each stroke, and his breath came in heavier and heavier sighs. His skin tasted of salt and bitter cologne. He worked his way up to Jensen's ear again, tonguing the lobe into his mouth. As he did, he swiped his thumb over the head of Jensen's cock, spreading the slight warmth that had gathered there.

Raising his head, Jensen took his hands from Jared's hair and reached down to his hands instead. He pushed gently, but consistently, trying to get Jared to halt his actions. He watched Jared smile and lean in for another kiss. Jensen opened his mouth to him, but nosed him back. "Stop," he finally breathed.

Jared brushed his lips against Jensen's in a fleeting kiss. "What?"

Eyelids heavy, Jensen looked at Jared. The man's hands were still moving, still stroking and making him feel so damn good. "Come on," he pleaded. He curled his fingers around Jared's wrist and tried to pull his hand away. "Don't embarrass me in front of everyone here, please?"

Chuckling, Jared kissed him again, speaking as he did. "Look around," he advised. "Tell me who here is embarrassed by anything. Tell me who's afraid of what's going on."

Jensen did as he was told, turning his head to look around. Even through his heavy eyelids, he saw a couple at another pillar, a fair distance away. She was pressed up against the rock, had one of her legs around his waist. The man was clearly moving as a lover does, hips thrusting softly against hers, not too rushed, not too slowly. The look of bliss on both their faces was so intense that Jensen felt embarrassed for them and looked away. He met Jared's eyes again and swallowed hard.

Keeping his gaze locked on Jensen's, Jared tugged the young man's jeans open wider.

"Come on," Jensen said again. "I don't want to make a mess."

"Why, because they'll know you were messing around?"

"No," he argued. "Because. Because it's embarrassing. Please?"

Jared smiled brighter. "I won't embarrass you." He kissed Jensen again, slow and easy, taking his time. He kissed his way down Jensen's neck, slid down to his knees.

Jensen watched for a moment as Jared pushed his T-shirt up just slightly. The movements were all normal -- all things they'd done before -- but panic set in when Jensen remembered where they were. He looked over to the couple a few pillars away, but they were caught up in their own activities. "Jared..."

He wasn't listening, however. Jared took as much of Jensen into his mouth as he could, being mindful for both of them about the zipper on Jensen's jeans. He sucked as hard as he dared without hurting, and was rewarded with a gasp from Jensen.

Mouth hanging agape, Jensen set his hand atop Jared's head. His eyes rolling back, Jensen couldn't stop his hips from flexing in time with Jared's mouth. He looked over at the couple nearby, mostly to make sure they weren't watching what Jared was doing. In the back of his mind, no matter how good it all felt, he worried that someone would pop around the corner and see them, be horribly embarrassed and run away. No one seemed to be interested in them, still. He looked down and watched Jared for a moment. Movement caught in his peripheral vision. He turned and saw another couple out on the lawn, away from the citronella torches. They were sprawled out on the grass, content in their own little world that they had created.

Jared suddenly slowed, giving a long sucking pull at Jensen's cock. He felt fingers tighten in his hair and repeated his movements. Jensen quickly came undone, his mouth falling open wide in a silent, choked-off moan. He shuddered as Jared continued, making sure there would be nothing left for Jensen to feel self-conscious about.

Jensen always had a hard time thinking afterwards. A hard time moving. Vaguely, he wondered if they had been successful in hiding what they were doing. He could feel Jared standing straight again, felt himself being tucked back into his jeans, the zipper, button and belt still unfastened. He opened his eyes just as Jared leaned in, kissing him softly, gently. Jensen responded, tasting himself there on Jared's tongue. It made his heart pound faster, his chest expand.

"Hey."

Startled, Jensen turned. Jared looked with him, but did not move away.

A girl was standing by the pillar. She smiled sweetly at them, motioning to the interior of the pavilion. "Beer's cold," she said. "Come get some."

She was gone in an instant, leaving Jensen to turn back to Jared, his eyes wide.

"See?" Jared chuckled. "Welcome to the world devoid of most Doug Freeman's and Alan Ackles'. No one fucking cares."

In the small space Jared's body provided, Jensen looked down and fastened his jeans and belt. "Some still care," he argued.

"Some do, you're right," he agreed. "But most of the time, people don't give a shit what you are. You can't spend our whole trip worrying about that."

Frowning, Jensen nodded. "I get it."

Jared smiled and backed away. He took hold of Jensen's collar, yanked him closer and planted a rough-yet-loving kiss upon his mouth. They moved into the pavilion, where Jared dug his wallet out of his pocket. He threw several bills onto one of the old, weathered picnic tables and snagged two beers from the coolers. He handed one to Jensen and twisted off the cap to his.

Two by two, people came back to the pavilion, put their money onto the picnic table and took their own beers. Jensen watched in amazement how everyone acted similarly. The money was gathered by the girl that had told them the beer was chilled. She straightened the bills, rolled them and stuffed them into her pocket for the next gathering. She couldn't have been of legal age. Jensen assumed someone bought the beer for her.

The party wasn't a wild one, mostly just talking. The girls sat on their guys' laps, drinking and laughing with the rest of the crowd. Jared and Jensen sat on the low wall that bordered the pavilion. Jared joined in on the conversation after introducing himself and Jensen.

That's when it happened. The reaction that Jensen had been worrying about.

"Since when do we allow fucking fags here?"

Eyes angry, Jared turned and looked at the man who spoke the hateful words. The guy was sitting in a folding lawn chair, a cute blonde sitting on his lap.

"Eric, shut up," another guy said. "This isn't your personal fucking property."

Eric glared over at the other man. "Fuck you, Larson," he snarled. "Just because you got a fag cousin doesn't mean I have to accept every goddamn one of them stepping onto my turf."

"This is everyone's turf, and we say it's okay, right?"

The crowds mumbled an agreement, nodding their heads collectively.

Larson smiled over at Eric. "Don't like it? Leave."

Grumbling under his breath, Eric shoved the girl off his lap and stormed out of the pavilion and off the park grounds. The girl he was with went after him, slinging her arms around his neck as they walked back to the car.

"Sorry about that," Jared said, not really apologetic in the least.

"Don't worry about it," Larson said. "He'll be pissy, but I'll talk to him on Monday and he'll be fine. He just doesn't like new people."

The party continued after that. Jensen's pounding heart calmed. He was impressed that the situation had been handled rationally. No one had gotten hurt, especially he and Jared.

After awhile, Jared left him to go socialize with the others. Jensen stayed where he was, still uncomfortable at parties and in large groups of people.

"So, you guys have been together awhile, huh?"

Turning, Jensen saw the woman that had been a few pillars away from he and Jared, with her own man pressing her against the rocks. Her partner was over talking to Jared, Larson and a couple other people. The women had separated somewhat, into smaller gossiping groups.

"Karen," she said, holding out her hand to him.

Jensen swallowed a mouthful of beer and nodded his head at the woman. He shook her hand, smiling politely. "Jensen," he said. Remembering her question he nodded again and looked over at Jared. "A little while, yeah."

"You can tell," she smiled. "The way he looks at you."

Jensen wasn't sure how to respond to that. He smiled and nodded, glancing over at Jared. For a split second, he wished that he would come over and save him, but he resisted the urge to get up and leave Karen.

"Was he your first?"

She was just being friendly, he knew, but he felt uncomfortable talking about such things. He shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry," she smiled. "If this is creeping you out--"

"No," he lied, holding up a hand. "No, it's okay. Um, yeah, Jared's been the only--well, no I mean, I had--my best friend was, y'know, curious, so I..." He paused, clearing his throat again. "Jared's the only one though."

Karen smiled brighter, finding his shyness rather endearing. She liked how his ears turned bright red when he was embarrassed. "I thought maybe," she nodded. "I saw what he did to you."

Eyes flying wide open, Jensen looked at her. He had thought for sure she'd been so wrapped up in what was going on with her own man, she hadn't noticed a thing. "I..."

"Don't worry about it," she chuckled, waving him off. "It was hot."

Jensen swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. He pursed his lips and tried to cough before taking a good drink of beer.

Karen pointed to one of the other girlfriends in the group nearest them. "See that girl over there?"

Jensen thought he knew who she meant and nodded his head. "Yeah?"

"Marybeth Blake," she said. "Both of our prom dates got trashed last year and passed out at midnight. So, to punish them, she and I had sex and told them all about it afterwards."

A bit more at ease, Jensen smiled and even chuckled a little. "Were they sorry?"

"Sorriest you've ever seen," she winked.

Jensen's grin grew brighter. He held his bottle out to her. She touched hers to his, clinking them together, and they both drank. When he turned back towards Jared, he found him already watching him. It was clear to Jensen then that Jared had left him alone on purpose to force him into socializing. He watched Jared gaze at him for a moment before nodding towards the bike. Jensen polished off what was left in his beer bottle and stood from his seat. He said good night to Karen and then to the rest of them. He followed Jared to the bike and donned his helmet.

"Feel better?" Jared asked, swinging his leg over the bike. He felt Jensen climb on behind him and started the engine.

"I do," he returned.

"Good," Jared nodded. He revved the bike engine a couple of times and hit the kickstand. "You can thank me when we get back."

--TBC--