{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 13
Title: Dreaming in Cordite
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun
Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.
Rating: 18 Overall - Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000
~#~#~
The clock ticked away. Jensen sat on his heels, one eye on the patients and one on the long-legged kid pacing a track in the cheap carpet. They swapped small talk and worried observations as they watched the minutes tick by. The kid was taking what he probably thought was covert peeks at Jensen. Boy was trying to be discreet so Jensen kept his smile clear off his face. Jared was chewing at his lip and Jensen tried to remember being that young, when everything was immediate and itching under your skin. Jared flitted from the window to the beds then perched on the armchair for a few seconds then he was off to the window again. Jensen kept an eye on him but didn't say anything. Looked like he was putting a couple of things together in his head. Boy'd talk when he was ready.
"Hey, Jensen, can I ask you something?" Jared spoke up sooner than Jensen had expected.
Jensen nodded, eyes on the parking lot, "Yeah, sure. What can I do for you?"
"If you're right- I mean," he continued, "If Chri- if Kane is the one behind it..."
"He is."
"Okay, so if it's Kane, then it means that we can't go home. Everything and everyone we knew, we gotta leave it behind us or else he'll just track us down and cut us down. And I don't even know why he's doing it. I mean, he's already got what he wants; he's running the company with a free reign... Why does he have to take us out?"
It was Miss Ferris who answered. "You told him that you wanted in. You'd been putting in the effort and most people thought that you were ready to get back into the company, Jay-honey." She paused, panting a little as she rolled her head to look at Jared. "You did the one thing that he was praying for you never to do. Honestly, Jay, I think his whole plan backfired."
"His whole plan?" Jared asked.
"Yes, baby, Jeffrey and I had a poke around after your father... Well, just after, and we couldn’t find anything. Chris was cut up about the whole thing and then he was so good with the two of you and making sure that you all had time to get yourselves together that we never even considered it possible," Sam paused, "This is all our fault, baby, mine and Jeffrey's. If we'd done... If we'd... We shoulda…"
"Sam, Sam, no! It wasn't your fault!" Jared pulled her into a hug. Sam's eyes rolled back in her head and she screamed at the sudden movement. Jensen moved closer, hovering close as Jared gently lowered her back down on to the bed.
"Sam, what's wrong? What did I do?"
"Nothing, baby. You didn't do anything, I just..." she stopped, panting slightly. "It was the wall, honey, when I hit it, and when the concrete fell, I caught one or two of them. Don't worry baby, once the doctor comes, he'll fix us both up right and we'll be outta here 'fore dinner."
Jared cast a worried look at his sister who hadn't even twitched since they'd brought her in.
"We got any idea when Josh is gonna be back?" he asked.
Jensen shook his head, but before he could say anything, a knock came on the door. Jensen drew his gun and moved to the wall, bracing himself.
“Si?”
Josh's voice came back strong, "Open up, little brother."
He unhooked the chain again and opened the door, still staying cautious. A small man, tweedy and slight, moved past him and over to the bed.
"Right, who's worse and how much you paying me?" he asked as he looked between the two women.
Jensen bristled. He didn't like Doc but what he'd told Jared was right, he was a damned good doctor and as long as you paid him, he wouldn't say a word to anyone who asked. But even with all that, he still thought the guy was a bastard.
"Good to see you too, Doc."
"Spare me." The Doc dropped his duffel on the bedside locker. "Which one first?"
"We got Miss F here who's gotten herself knocked around by a couple of pieces of masonry. She's got internal bleeding that needs looking at soon. Then we got Miss M here, she got injured at the same time, knocked out and hasn't woken up since. Her eyes are good but that's about the height of what I can tell you," Jensen informed him calmly.
The doctor let his eyes wander over Megan for a moment before going to sit beside Miss Ferris on the bed, "Now, Miss F, I'll need to have a look, you don't mind, do you?"
Jensen took that as his cue and hunted Jared and Josh from the room, "Come on boys, we'll just go grab our ladies some food for when the doc's all done. I'm voting for Italian, you boys got an opinion?"
He winked at Miss Ferris as he pulled the door behind him.
"You sure we should be leaving him alone in there?" Jared asked, eyeing the closed door.
"Jared, from what I've learned, Miss Ferris is the closest thing you got to family besides Megan, that right?" Jensen asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Jared replied.
Josh picked up what Jensen was trying to say and continued from there, "You really wanna watch her strip down and get cut open?"
A blush crawled up his cheeks, "Not really."
"Well then, you want Italian? Mexican?" Jensen asked, refocusing the conversation and giving Jared something else to think on. And if he needed distraction from how pretty the kid blushed, well that was no-one's business but his own.
"Sam and Meg hate Mexican, too spicy for them. A Chinese might be good, some Chow Mein and spring rolls?"
Jensen nodded, smiling as he followed Josh to the car he'd procured. The black car had sleek lines, hidden under a thin layer of city dirt. It was old but it was in good condition. He saw the symbol on the front and grinned widely.
"Ya got me a Chevy, Josh? Damn, you shouldn't have!" Jensen held up his hand, asking for the keys.
Josh raised an eyebrow over the use of his real name but chucked the key ring over. Jensen caught it easily and popped over the driver's side door. He slid into the dark leather seats and let his hands run over the worn steering wheel.
"Well now, this is just fine. Didn't think you'd remember, man."
"Yeah, yeah, don't say I don't do nothing for ya! I saw her and she just screamed take me!" Josh grinned as he slid into the back seat, leaving the front seat for Jared.
"I think I'm missing something here," Jared looked lost.
Jensen tapped the ignition and the car grumble-roared to life.
"Sweet as a kitten, now lets see if she's got the claws," Jensen threw the car into drive and pulled out of the lot slow and easy. He didn't look across as he answered Jared's question. "My Dad gave me my first car, a '67 Chevy Impala, a real classic, rebuilt from a couple of junkers at one of the places we settled. Damn but I loved that car. Got it shot out from under me about five years later. Fucking raider-scum. We tried to salvage it but they'd hit the engine block." He flicked a glance in the rear view mirror at Josh, "Dude, you've got first refusal on my first born."
Josh muttered, "Yeah, like that'll ever happen!"
Jensen glared back at his brother, "Josh…"
Josh grinned, "Come on, bro, even if you liked chicks, you've been livin' like a monk the last two years!"
Jared smirked, shifting in the seat until he could see both brothers, "Now, there sounds like there's something interesting here. Come on, spill!"
Josh sat back against the upholstery, and threw out the comment, "Baby boy here, ain't exactly interested in the fairer sex, if ya know what I mean."
"Josh..." Jensen warned.
"Oh what? Not like Jared here is gonna be shocked," Josh said, "Hell, he might even help you get that stick outta your ass!"
Jensen gritted his teeth and just focused on driving. It’s only another block until Jensen pulls in. Pulling out a credchip, he tosses it to Jared. "Grab us a couple of different things to try Doesn't matter what, yeah?"
Jared looked between the brothers and nodded. Looked like being out of the car might be safer than staying. Jensen watched the kid practically run for the sanctuary of the restaurant.
"Look, Jen, I just thought..." Josh started.
"I don't care if you're sitting here with the biggest queen in the country, you do not try to set me up with a mark. You got that? If I like someone, I’ll tell them. I’m not some shy virgin who doesn’t know what he wants, Josh. Are we clear?"
"Jeez, baby bro," Josh held up his hands in surrender.
"Are we clear?" Jensen asked again.
"Yeah, right, we're clear."
"I know you were just trying to help but we're in the middle of a run here and it ain't over until we get them set up somewhere safe," Jensen's voice was soft again, fingers rubbing the worn leather as he tried to focus on the car, the job, anything but the too-pretty rich kid. "I mean, kid's sister's still out of it, and unless Doc has a miracle up his sleeve, it doesn't look good for Miss Ferris."
"Yeah, I guess, it's just..." Josh faltered, "I guess it's been a while since I seen you laugh, or even smile and well, from what I can tell, and I may have gotten it wrong, I'm just your big brother, but you broke street code for the kid, telling him your name. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you using my name."
"Was just easier. We’re going to be spending at least another day with them."
"Don't exactly matter. Kid's been making doe eyes at you," Josh tried again, "Not saying that you gotta do something drastic like haul him off to a church or nothing, just ... might be fun! He sure as fuck needs a bit of R&R anyway, ya know? You ain’t let yourself relax in a while, not since you showed up in mine. Not going to get a chance once you get back to the family with Momma watching over you all the time."
"Christ, Josh, don't you think with anything but your dick?" Jensen shook his head. "The kid's just that, a kid. It'd be wrong of me to..."
"Not like you'd be his first, baby brother, if half of the tabloids is to be believed."
Jensen went quiet, eyes still fixed on the restaurant and Jared standing just inside the window. "I'll... I'll think about it, Josh, but it really wasn't cool the way you did it."
"We'd be waiting 'til Doomsday if we were waiting for you to do anything about it," Josh joked, leaning over to scruff his brother. "Think of it as a little grease on the wheels. Least this way the kid knows that you're not exactly opposed to the idea. Who knows, he may even jump you when you're not expectin'."
Jensen said nothing. It wasn't long until Jared left the restaurant with three paper bags in his hand filled with food. Jensen reached over and opened the door, just enough for Jared to hook it with a knee and pull it open the rest of the way. He folded himself into the front seat and looked from brother to brother.
"Everything okay?" he asked tentatively, tucking the Chinese away at his feet.
"Yeah, sorry about that,” Jensen apologized, flicking on the fan.
"Don't worry about it," Jared assured. "Megan did the same to me a while ago, blurted everything out in front of Sam and my dad when they were neck deep in the middle of an argument about her dating. Dad wasn't too happy. Sam either cause he sent her off to have the chat on propriety and discretion. Dunno which of them was blushing worse by the end of it."
Jensen laughed, pulling out into traffic and hanging a sharp U-turn, "Not sure I can imagine anything making that woman blush."
"There's not much, but being forced to have a chat with the kid you used to change diapers for on what exactly constituted safe sex, that one had her lit up like the fourth of July," Jared's voice trembled as it reached the end of the sentence. "She's going to be okay, right?"
Josh spoke up from the back seat, "Doc's the best there is. If anyone can do anything for her, it'll be him. Contrary bastard right enough but he's good at fixing people and making sure they stay fixed. Now why don't you have a think about where you'd like to go after this to lay low."
Jared looked down, playing with a sliver of loose skin around his thumbnail, "Not exactly sure we have anywhere to go. I mean, we've never left the city. Sam used to but that was years ago. Unless she knows somewhere, I'm pretty much outta ideas. I suppose heading outta the city would be an idea but with a fairly large lack of cash, we're boned after a couple of days."
Jensen met Josh's eyes in the rearview for a second. Clean water, bug-free food, sand masks, a car that didn't need fancy calibrations or parts and could run for miles; just some of the things that it took to survive a trip out of city. Even if they got to another city there were scavengers and runaway criminals to deal with. Even supposing they made it that far, the press would splash their names across every paper in the state inside twenty four hours. Corps would know the Padaleckis had been spotted in twelve. Only option would be to sneak in and with a teenager in tow, possibly an injured teen too, the black market would kill them. Best they could hope for was to find a small town and settle down, get a job, all that other steady crap that people did if they were legit or legal.
They arrived back to the motel without incident and hopped out of the car, both mercs letting their eyes crawl around the car park for any problems. Jensen helped Jared with the bags, sending Josh on to knock on the door. The door opened and they found themselves looking down the barrel of a sawn-off.
"Doc, it's us. Put up the shotgun and let us in," Josh growled.
"Otherwise, you ain't getting fed!" Jensen added in.
The door shot open and Doc was ushering them in and almost attacking Jared to see what he bought. Jared pushed the man out of the way gently and made his way to the tiny plywood table in the corner of the room. He put the bags down and started pulling out cartons and chopsticks. Doc popped open the cartons as he sniffed and hemmed over the choices. Jared left him to it, going over instead to hover nervously on the side of Megan's bed.
Jensen went over to assess the patients as Doc devoured the Kung Po Chicken. Sam was asleep, blankets pulled up over her chest, shoulders bare. She was pale, ghostly pale but her breathing was regular. He put the back of his hand against her forehead. She was a little warm but not overly so. Long as it was monitored, shouldn't be a problem.
Turning, he checked over Megan. He looked up at Jared who seemed afraid to even breathe on his little sister for fear of touching her. He could understand the nerves, but holding her hand wouldn’t break her. As the back of Jensen’s hand touched her forehead, her eyes fluttered open, shocking a cry out of Jared.
"Welcome back, Princess," Jensen's eyes twinkled as he spoke, "Good to see those baby blues again."
Megan struggled to speak but managed to get one word out, "Brown."
Jensen pushed a stay strand back from her face, "They sure are, darlin'. You've had a few people a little worried here."
She grimaced as she turned her head to look at Jared.
"Hey, there Munchkin," Jared spoke softly, taking her hand in his much bigger one. "How you feelin'?"
"Sore," she replied, voice warming up as she spoke. "Where?"
"We're in a motel at the edge of town, just waiting on you to wake up and feel better," his voice cracked, "You had me worried. Who'd I have to bug me if you wandered off and left me alone?"
She smiled, and then grimaced as pain flashed.
"Hey, darlin', you wanna take a nap?" Jensen asked.
Megan didn't answer, just closed her eyes. Her breathing steadied out almost immediately and she was asleep. Jensen looked up at Jared and smiled. Jared blinked furiously and offered a wobbly smile as the tears started. Ducking his head, he wiped furiously at his face. Jensen gave him a moment to compose himself, moving to stand between Joss, Doc and the kid.
"So what's the prognosis, Doc, how are the girls?"
"Not too bad considering everything they've been through. Girl there just got knocked on the noggin but she's likely to be puking her guts up when she's properly awake. But once she's done with that, she'll be fine. Nothing damaged. Course, if she gets worse then you'll be needing to get her back to a doctor, quicklike," Doc paused to stuff his face with noodles but didn't pause to swallow before he continued. "Miss Ferris over there is the hugest pain in the ass I ever did treat, but I swear, if she wasn't slit open and stitched up, I'd be tryin' my best to get inna her pants."
"Less perving, more diagnosing, Doc," Jensen growled. "Or so help me..."
Doc chewed and loaded up with sweet and sour chicken, "She's busted up good, but I did a patch job on her. She's got a couple of stitches and if things don't go well, she'll have a bit of a fever. Nothing that can't be fixed with drugs. Gonna leave you with a supply of everything you need. Winchester, you good to do injections?"
Jensen nodded, "Yeah, been trained up on it. Been a while since I done it, but it's like riding a bike, yeah?"
"Smartass," Doc accused. "But yeah, it's easy once you remember. She tops out over a hundred, start giving her the drugs. Thirty mils three times a day, into her stomach. She's gonna piss and moan but she'll be good. Got all that?"
"Ain't like it's rocket science." Jensen held up his hands as Doc scowled." Yeah. Yeah, no problem. Hey, guys, you wanna tuck in before Doc finishes the banquet?"
Josh tipped a container of chow mien to his brother, "Way ahead of you."
"Jared?" Jensen asked, "Last chance 'cause I guarantee there ain't going be a cracker left once I start."
"Dude, you better not eat my damned food," Jared was up and over, composed again. "You do not want to have me hungry."
Jensen laughed and tossed a carton of rice over along with a pack of chopsticks. Jared demolished it, then started on what was left of the pile.
Doc finished the last of his fourth carton and wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve, "So there's the not-so-small matter of my bill?"
Jensen glanced at Josh, then turned to Jared, "You got your credit card?"
Jared shuffled until the chopsticks and the box were in one hand and the other was fumbling for his wallet, "Sure dude, what you need?"
Jensen held up his hand and Jared tossed the whole wallet over. He could see Josh rolling his eyes. Kid hadn't learnt to be cautious yet. Flipping over the leather, Jensen had a look through the assembled plastic until he saw one he liked. He pulled the black rectangle free and tossed it at Doc.
"That do you?" Jensen asked.
Jared's eyes were wide as he followed the motion of his Amex card, "The hell?"
"It's a corp card, Jared. You don't think Kane isn't going be trying every lead he can find while he's looking for you?" Jensen asked. "I give it two days tops, before he cancels them on you. Doc here can pull enough off in the short term to pay his bill. Best about it is that Doc'll lay us a false trail that Kane will be chasing for months."
"Suppose..." Jared admitted.
“Always said you’d go far boy, mind like yours,” Doc smiled, “Devious but practical. I’ll have one of my boys do a couple of circuits of the city. We’ll have them chasing their tails.”
Jared thought about it, “But isn’t he going to know?”
Jensen smirked, “Can’t afford not to look into it, never know if you’re just paying people to use your card. All he knows is that once he stops investigating, you might slip by, taking a chunk of cash with you.”
Slipping the card into an inside pocket, Doc thanked them for their custom and left, grabbing all his stuff. Jensen threw a look at Josh. Josh grabbed his keys and left to give the doctor a lift home.
"You should get some sleep too when you're done here. It's been a tough day and you'll need your wits once we get out of the city," Jensen said, crumpling up the empty cartons.
"Sleep sounds good." Jared admitted around a yawn that gave Jensen a perfect view of his tonsils. "Only problem is where? I don't like the look of that carpet."
Jensen pulled a key from his pocket, "We have a second room."
Jared looked at the key, then back at his sister. He looked torn and Jensen could sympathise but the kid was like nine feet tall. Adrenaline would only get him so far before he crashed and burned. Fucked if Jensen was hauling his gigantic ass through a firefight. He tossed the key to Jared who snagged it midair then blinked at it like it was the tooth fairy or something.
"Go on, Jared, grab a couple of hours, I'll stay here and watch them," Jensen pushed.
"You're sure?" Jared asked.
"Yeah, go on," Jensen persisted, "I'll call you if anything happens."
Jared nodded finally, taking the key from Jensen, "Thanks, man. You need anything, anything, just call me, yeah?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
Jared paused in the doorway, thumb thumping on the wooden surround. Jensen frowned as he watched the younger man falter, trying to say something.
"Are... Will you... You'll be grabbing sleep later, yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll probably grab a couple of hours when Josh gets back, then swap with him before we head out. Got at least eight hours before we can move. Least that way, there'll always be someone with them," he gestured with his shoulder.
Jared looked out over the car park. Jensen could see the tips of his ears go dark red.
"Well, when you do want to ... Just knock on the door?"
Jensen blushed. The kid couldn’t mean… He wouldn’t… Sure, the kid was a teenager but he could go one night without jerking off, right? Thankfully, Jared was gone before he could ask.
Christ, if only they were finished the job, he'd be in there giving the kid a helping hand... Or maybe not. He'd never been that forward about picking up guys. He generally took opportunities rather than courting his own engagements. He ran a hand through his hair as he laughed at himself. He had to be the worst excuse for a gay guy. Didn't like the booming music of the gay bars, preferring instead quiet soldier bars with a decent beer and football on the TV. But unfortunately, it wasn't the best place to look for dates. Sure the city was fairly liberal these days but the mercs and the military were still a bit backwards when it came to this sort of thing. Asking a guy if he wanted to head back to yours for a beer and a blow was like asking if he killed babies in his spare time, and got about the same reaction - a fist to the face to get them down and a bullet to the brain.
It wasn't like he'd be seeing the boy again once they left the city. They were heading home after this, getting their heads down in the company of family. Whereas, the kid and his family would have to shelter themselves and find their own place in the world while Jensen was roaming the wilds of rural Texas.
Christ, he was tying himself in knots here. Wouldn't do much good to anyone if he didn't stow this shit and get his head back where it's supposed to be, watching for Kane's goons and making sure that Sam's okay. Speaking of, he went to her side and checked her temperature again. She was still warm, but no warmer than before, which was a relief. He ghosted back to the window and settled in to keep watch, resolutely not thinking about the room next door or stupidly gorgeous teases occupying said room.
He was still there, propped against the wall and watching the car park when Josh rolled back in a couple of hours later. Jensen suspected that he'd used to opportunity to go see Inez and sleep in his own bed, or rather the bed of their back up apartment. Couldn't blame him for that. Unless he manned up and invited her out to visit the family, it would be the last chance he'd get to see her in a while. And damn it, if Josh didn't do it, Jensen was going to. It was about time that Inez met Momma. The woman was as good as married to his brother and she still hadn't met his family. It was getting to the point where Jensen had his own ass to consider. His Momma wasn't going to be happy about this as it was.
The familiar knock came on the door and Jensen pulled it open.
"You good to take over?" he asked, not really giving him a chance to answer before he started to stow his guns.
"Yeah, grabbed some sleep at ours, figured that you wouldn't mind!"
"It's cool. I'll just grab a few next door. Holler if you need me.” Jensen said as he zipped his bag closed. "Miss Ferris seems fine, but she might be starting a fever so keep an eye on that, yeah? Megan woke up for a minute or two but she turned over and went back under afterwards."
"No problem, bro," Josh pulled his own guns out and started placing them on the table. "I got this covered!"
Jensen didn't argue, just left. He was tempted to just get another room but there was no point. He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks before he knocked on the door. Inside, it was quiet. Jensen knocked again, a little louder this time. He was on the verge of going for the lockpicks when he heard the shuffle of feet on the other side. The door cracked open just a few inches.
"Jeez, man, sorry. Was sacked out. Didn't hear you," Jared's voice was raspy and sleep-slurred. He swayed a little, leaning into the door as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.
Jensen's eyes travelled up and down the hard frame of the man who answered the door. No bruises, nothing that needed attention but where the hell had he been hiding that body? His clothes had been tight but somehow he'd missed the well toned abs and pecs. And Christ, the man wasn't wearing even a smile. Jensen forced himself to look up at the other man's eyes.
"So, you going to let me in, or am I gonna be stuck on the doorstep all night?" Jensen asked, reminding Jared that he actually had to move out of the doorway if Jensen was going to get in.
"Shit, yeah, sorry, man..." he moved.
Jared shuffled back, letting Jensen slip past him. The room was typical, the same flowered wallpaper and crappy carpets as the other room. The main focal point of the room was the bed. Singular. Just one double bed.
"The hell...?" Jensen muttered.
He was going to skin Josh for this one.
"Yeah, I know... Figured it would be a twin like the other one, but..." Jared scruffed his hair, ruffling it further. "Oh well, I don't mind if you don't. I mean, I'm too damned tired to do much more than roll over and go back to sleep, if that's what you're worried about!"
"Nah, man, I don't care, I need a pillow and a flat surface, maybe a blanket if I'm lucky and I'll fall asleep anywhere," Jensen yawned and dropped his bag on the floor.
"Sounds good."
Jared stumbled back towards the bed and face planted on it. Jensen winced. It looked like it had to hurt, although the wiggling and the struggling to get the blanket pulled out from under him had him biting his lip to keep from laughing at the other man's antics. Kid looked for all the world like a super-sized toddler getting settled. He pulled his weapon free from it's holster and put it on the locker on the side of the bed that Jared wasn't sprawled across. Next came the inner pants holster, the shirt and the trousers. He deliberated over the jockey shorts but kept them on, to the apparent disappointment of his bed mate to judge by the look on Jared's face.
Jensen smirked deciding to play with the boy a bit, "I don't put out on the first date. I'm a classy lady here. Gotta at least buy me dinner with your own damn money."
Jared huffed a laugh and turned so his back was to Jensen and just like that, he was asleep and snoring. Jensen rolled his eyes and settled under the blanket. With practiced ease, he cleared his mind and let sleep take him.
Master Fic Post | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue | Master Art Post | Soundtrack
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun
Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.
Rating: 18 Overall - Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000
~#~#~
The clock ticked away. Jensen sat on his heels, one eye on the patients and one on the long-legged kid pacing a track in the cheap carpet. They swapped small talk and worried observations as they watched the minutes tick by. The kid was taking what he probably thought was covert peeks at Jensen. Boy was trying to be discreet so Jensen kept his smile clear off his face. Jared was chewing at his lip and Jensen tried to remember being that young, when everything was immediate and itching under your skin. Jared flitted from the window to the beds then perched on the armchair for a few seconds then he was off to the window again. Jensen kept an eye on him but didn't say anything. Looked like he was putting a couple of things together in his head. Boy'd talk when he was ready.
"Hey, Jensen, can I ask you something?" Jared spoke up sooner than Jensen had expected.
Jensen nodded, eyes on the parking lot, "Yeah, sure. What can I do for you?"
"If you're right- I mean," he continued, "If Chri- if Kane is the one behind it..."
"He is."
"Okay, so if it's Kane, then it means that we can't go home. Everything and everyone we knew, we gotta leave it behind us or else he'll just track us down and cut us down. And I don't even know why he's doing it. I mean, he's already got what he wants; he's running the company with a free reign... Why does he have to take us out?"
It was Miss Ferris who answered. "You told him that you wanted in. You'd been putting in the effort and most people thought that you were ready to get back into the company, Jay-honey." She paused, panting a little as she rolled her head to look at Jared. "You did the one thing that he was praying for you never to do. Honestly, Jay, I think his whole plan backfired."
"His whole plan?" Jared asked.
"Yes, baby, Jeffrey and I had a poke around after your father... Well, just after, and we couldn’t find anything. Chris was cut up about the whole thing and then he was so good with the two of you and making sure that you all had time to get yourselves together that we never even considered it possible," Sam paused, "This is all our fault, baby, mine and Jeffrey's. If we'd done... If we'd... We shoulda…"
"Sam, Sam, no! It wasn't your fault!" Jared pulled her into a hug. Sam's eyes rolled back in her head and she screamed at the sudden movement. Jensen moved closer, hovering close as Jared gently lowered her back down on to the bed.
"Sam, what's wrong? What did I do?"
"Nothing, baby. You didn't do anything, I just..." she stopped, panting slightly. "It was the wall, honey, when I hit it, and when the concrete fell, I caught one or two of them. Don't worry baby, once the doctor comes, he'll fix us both up right and we'll be outta here 'fore dinner."
Jared cast a worried look at his sister who hadn't even twitched since they'd brought her in.
"We got any idea when Josh is gonna be back?" he asked.
Jensen shook his head, but before he could say anything, a knock came on the door. Jensen drew his gun and moved to the wall, bracing himself.
“Si?”
Josh's voice came back strong, "Open up, little brother."
He unhooked the chain again and opened the door, still staying cautious. A small man, tweedy and slight, moved past him and over to the bed.
"Right, who's worse and how much you paying me?" he asked as he looked between the two women.
Jensen bristled. He didn't like Doc but what he'd told Jared was right, he was a damned good doctor and as long as you paid him, he wouldn't say a word to anyone who asked. But even with all that, he still thought the guy was a bastard.
"Good to see you too, Doc."
"Spare me." The Doc dropped his duffel on the bedside locker. "Which one first?"
"We got Miss F here who's gotten herself knocked around by a couple of pieces of masonry. She's got internal bleeding that needs looking at soon. Then we got Miss M here, she got injured at the same time, knocked out and hasn't woken up since. Her eyes are good but that's about the height of what I can tell you," Jensen informed him calmly.
The doctor let his eyes wander over Megan for a moment before going to sit beside Miss Ferris on the bed, "Now, Miss F, I'll need to have a look, you don't mind, do you?"
Jensen took that as his cue and hunted Jared and Josh from the room, "Come on boys, we'll just go grab our ladies some food for when the doc's all done. I'm voting for Italian, you boys got an opinion?"
He winked at Miss Ferris as he pulled the door behind him.
"You sure we should be leaving him alone in there?" Jared asked, eyeing the closed door.
"Jared, from what I've learned, Miss Ferris is the closest thing you got to family besides Megan, that right?" Jensen asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Jared replied.
Josh picked up what Jensen was trying to say and continued from there, "You really wanna watch her strip down and get cut open?"
A blush crawled up his cheeks, "Not really."
"Well then, you want Italian? Mexican?" Jensen asked, refocusing the conversation and giving Jared something else to think on. And if he needed distraction from how pretty the kid blushed, well that was no-one's business but his own.
"Sam and Meg hate Mexican, too spicy for them. A Chinese might be good, some Chow Mein and spring rolls?"
Jensen nodded, smiling as he followed Josh to the car he'd procured. The black car had sleek lines, hidden under a thin layer of city dirt. It was old but it was in good condition. He saw the symbol on the front and grinned widely.
"Ya got me a Chevy, Josh? Damn, you shouldn't have!" Jensen held up his hand, asking for the keys.
Josh raised an eyebrow over the use of his real name but chucked the key ring over. Jensen caught it easily and popped over the driver's side door. He slid into the dark leather seats and let his hands run over the worn steering wheel.
"Well now, this is just fine. Didn't think you'd remember, man."
"Yeah, yeah, don't say I don't do nothing for ya! I saw her and she just screamed take me!" Josh grinned as he slid into the back seat, leaving the front seat for Jared.
"I think I'm missing something here," Jared looked lost.
Jensen tapped the ignition and the car grumble-roared to life.
"Sweet as a kitten, now lets see if she's got the claws," Jensen threw the car into drive and pulled out of the lot slow and easy. He didn't look across as he answered Jared's question. "My Dad gave me my first car, a '67 Chevy Impala, a real classic, rebuilt from a couple of junkers at one of the places we settled. Damn but I loved that car. Got it shot out from under me about five years later. Fucking raider-scum. We tried to salvage it but they'd hit the engine block." He flicked a glance in the rear view mirror at Josh, "Dude, you've got first refusal on my first born."
Josh muttered, "Yeah, like that'll ever happen!"
Jensen glared back at his brother, "Josh…"
Josh grinned, "Come on, bro, even if you liked chicks, you've been livin' like a monk the last two years!"
Jared smirked, shifting in the seat until he could see both brothers, "Now, there sounds like there's something interesting here. Come on, spill!"
Josh sat back against the upholstery, and threw out the comment, "Baby boy here, ain't exactly interested in the fairer sex, if ya know what I mean."
"Josh..." Jensen warned.
"Oh what? Not like Jared here is gonna be shocked," Josh said, "Hell, he might even help you get that stick outta your ass!"
Jensen gritted his teeth and just focused on driving. It’s only another block until Jensen pulls in. Pulling out a credchip, he tosses it to Jared. "Grab us a couple of different things to try Doesn't matter what, yeah?"
Jared looked between the brothers and nodded. Looked like being out of the car might be safer than staying. Jensen watched the kid practically run for the sanctuary of the restaurant.
"Look, Jen, I just thought..." Josh started.
"I don't care if you're sitting here with the biggest queen in the country, you do not try to set me up with a mark. You got that? If I like someone, I’ll tell them. I’m not some shy virgin who doesn’t know what he wants, Josh. Are we clear?"
"Jeez, baby bro," Josh held up his hands in surrender.
"Are we clear?" Jensen asked again.
"Yeah, right, we're clear."
"I know you were just trying to help but we're in the middle of a run here and it ain't over until we get them set up somewhere safe," Jensen's voice was soft again, fingers rubbing the worn leather as he tried to focus on the car, the job, anything but the too-pretty rich kid. "I mean, kid's sister's still out of it, and unless Doc has a miracle up his sleeve, it doesn't look good for Miss Ferris."
"Yeah, I guess, it's just..." Josh faltered, "I guess it's been a while since I seen you laugh, or even smile and well, from what I can tell, and I may have gotten it wrong, I'm just your big brother, but you broke street code for the kid, telling him your name. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you using my name."
"Was just easier. We’re going to be spending at least another day with them."
"Don't exactly matter. Kid's been making doe eyes at you," Josh tried again, "Not saying that you gotta do something drastic like haul him off to a church or nothing, just ... might be fun! He sure as fuck needs a bit of R&R anyway, ya know? You ain’t let yourself relax in a while, not since you showed up in mine. Not going to get a chance once you get back to the family with Momma watching over you all the time."
"Christ, Josh, don't you think with anything but your dick?" Jensen shook his head. "The kid's just that, a kid. It'd be wrong of me to..."
"Not like you'd be his first, baby brother, if half of the tabloids is to be believed."
Jensen went quiet, eyes still fixed on the restaurant and Jared standing just inside the window. "I'll... I'll think about it, Josh, but it really wasn't cool the way you did it."
"We'd be waiting 'til Doomsday if we were waiting for you to do anything about it," Josh joked, leaning over to scruff his brother. "Think of it as a little grease on the wheels. Least this way the kid knows that you're not exactly opposed to the idea. Who knows, he may even jump you when you're not expectin'."
Jensen said nothing. It wasn't long until Jared left the restaurant with three paper bags in his hand filled with food. Jensen reached over and opened the door, just enough for Jared to hook it with a knee and pull it open the rest of the way. He folded himself into the front seat and looked from brother to brother.
"Everything okay?" he asked tentatively, tucking the Chinese away at his feet.
"Yeah, sorry about that,” Jensen apologized, flicking on the fan.
"Don't worry about it," Jared assured. "Megan did the same to me a while ago, blurted everything out in front of Sam and my dad when they were neck deep in the middle of an argument about her dating. Dad wasn't too happy. Sam either cause he sent her off to have the chat on propriety and discretion. Dunno which of them was blushing worse by the end of it."
Jensen laughed, pulling out into traffic and hanging a sharp U-turn, "Not sure I can imagine anything making that woman blush."
"There's not much, but being forced to have a chat with the kid you used to change diapers for on what exactly constituted safe sex, that one had her lit up like the fourth of July," Jared's voice trembled as it reached the end of the sentence. "She's going to be okay, right?"
Josh spoke up from the back seat, "Doc's the best there is. If anyone can do anything for her, it'll be him. Contrary bastard right enough but he's good at fixing people and making sure they stay fixed. Now why don't you have a think about where you'd like to go after this to lay low."
Jared looked down, playing with a sliver of loose skin around his thumbnail, "Not exactly sure we have anywhere to go. I mean, we've never left the city. Sam used to but that was years ago. Unless she knows somewhere, I'm pretty much outta ideas. I suppose heading outta the city would be an idea but with a fairly large lack of cash, we're boned after a couple of days."
Jensen met Josh's eyes in the rearview for a second. Clean water, bug-free food, sand masks, a car that didn't need fancy calibrations or parts and could run for miles; just some of the things that it took to survive a trip out of city. Even if they got to another city there were scavengers and runaway criminals to deal with. Even supposing they made it that far, the press would splash their names across every paper in the state inside twenty four hours. Corps would know the Padaleckis had been spotted in twelve. Only option would be to sneak in and with a teenager in tow, possibly an injured teen too, the black market would kill them. Best they could hope for was to find a small town and settle down, get a job, all that other steady crap that people did if they were legit or legal.
They arrived back to the motel without incident and hopped out of the car, both mercs letting their eyes crawl around the car park for any problems. Jensen helped Jared with the bags, sending Josh on to knock on the door. The door opened and they found themselves looking down the barrel of a sawn-off.
"Doc, it's us. Put up the shotgun and let us in," Josh growled.
"Otherwise, you ain't getting fed!" Jensen added in.
The door shot open and Doc was ushering them in and almost attacking Jared to see what he bought. Jared pushed the man out of the way gently and made his way to the tiny plywood table in the corner of the room. He put the bags down and started pulling out cartons and chopsticks. Doc popped open the cartons as he sniffed and hemmed over the choices. Jared left him to it, going over instead to hover nervously on the side of Megan's bed.
Jensen went over to assess the patients as Doc devoured the Kung Po Chicken. Sam was asleep, blankets pulled up over her chest, shoulders bare. She was pale, ghostly pale but her breathing was regular. He put the back of his hand against her forehead. She was a little warm but not overly so. Long as it was monitored, shouldn't be a problem.
Turning, he checked over Megan. He looked up at Jared who seemed afraid to even breathe on his little sister for fear of touching her. He could understand the nerves, but holding her hand wouldn’t break her. As the back of Jensen’s hand touched her forehead, her eyes fluttered open, shocking a cry out of Jared.
"Welcome back, Princess," Jensen's eyes twinkled as he spoke, "Good to see those baby blues again."
Megan struggled to speak but managed to get one word out, "Brown."
Jensen pushed a stay strand back from her face, "They sure are, darlin'. You've had a few people a little worried here."
She grimaced as she turned her head to look at Jared.
"Hey, there Munchkin," Jared spoke softly, taking her hand in his much bigger one. "How you feelin'?"
"Sore," she replied, voice warming up as she spoke. "Where?"
"We're in a motel at the edge of town, just waiting on you to wake up and feel better," his voice cracked, "You had me worried. Who'd I have to bug me if you wandered off and left me alone?"
She smiled, and then grimaced as pain flashed.
"Hey, darlin', you wanna take a nap?" Jensen asked.
Megan didn't answer, just closed her eyes. Her breathing steadied out almost immediately and she was asleep. Jensen looked up at Jared and smiled. Jared blinked furiously and offered a wobbly smile as the tears started. Ducking his head, he wiped furiously at his face. Jensen gave him a moment to compose himself, moving to stand between Joss, Doc and the kid.
"So what's the prognosis, Doc, how are the girls?"
"Not too bad considering everything they've been through. Girl there just got knocked on the noggin but she's likely to be puking her guts up when she's properly awake. But once she's done with that, she'll be fine. Nothing damaged. Course, if she gets worse then you'll be needing to get her back to a doctor, quicklike," Doc paused to stuff his face with noodles but didn't pause to swallow before he continued. "Miss Ferris over there is the hugest pain in the ass I ever did treat, but I swear, if she wasn't slit open and stitched up, I'd be tryin' my best to get inna her pants."
"Less perving, more diagnosing, Doc," Jensen growled. "Or so help me..."
Doc chewed and loaded up with sweet and sour chicken, "She's busted up good, but I did a patch job on her. She's got a couple of stitches and if things don't go well, she'll have a bit of a fever. Nothing that can't be fixed with drugs. Gonna leave you with a supply of everything you need. Winchester, you good to do injections?"
Jensen nodded, "Yeah, been trained up on it. Been a while since I done it, but it's like riding a bike, yeah?"
"Smartass," Doc accused. "But yeah, it's easy once you remember. She tops out over a hundred, start giving her the drugs. Thirty mils three times a day, into her stomach. She's gonna piss and moan but she'll be good. Got all that?"
"Ain't like it's rocket science." Jensen held up his hands as Doc scowled." Yeah. Yeah, no problem. Hey, guys, you wanna tuck in before Doc finishes the banquet?"
Josh tipped a container of chow mien to his brother, "Way ahead of you."
"Jared?" Jensen asked, "Last chance 'cause I guarantee there ain't going be a cracker left once I start."
"Dude, you better not eat my damned food," Jared was up and over, composed again. "You do not want to have me hungry."
Jensen laughed and tossed a carton of rice over along with a pack of chopsticks. Jared demolished it, then started on what was left of the pile.
Doc finished the last of his fourth carton and wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve, "So there's the not-so-small matter of my bill?"
Jensen glanced at Josh, then turned to Jared, "You got your credit card?"
Jared shuffled until the chopsticks and the box were in one hand and the other was fumbling for his wallet, "Sure dude, what you need?"
Jensen held up his hand and Jared tossed the whole wallet over. He could see Josh rolling his eyes. Kid hadn't learnt to be cautious yet. Flipping over the leather, Jensen had a look through the assembled plastic until he saw one he liked. He pulled the black rectangle free and tossed it at Doc.
"That do you?" Jensen asked.
Jared's eyes were wide as he followed the motion of his Amex card, "The hell?"
"It's a corp card, Jared. You don't think Kane isn't going be trying every lead he can find while he's looking for you?" Jensen asked. "I give it two days tops, before he cancels them on you. Doc here can pull enough off in the short term to pay his bill. Best about it is that Doc'll lay us a false trail that Kane will be chasing for months."
"Suppose..." Jared admitted.
“Always said you’d go far boy, mind like yours,” Doc smiled, “Devious but practical. I’ll have one of my boys do a couple of circuits of the city. We’ll have them chasing their tails.”
Jared thought about it, “But isn’t he going to know?”
Jensen smirked, “Can’t afford not to look into it, never know if you’re just paying people to use your card. All he knows is that once he stops investigating, you might slip by, taking a chunk of cash with you.”
Slipping the card into an inside pocket, Doc thanked them for their custom and left, grabbing all his stuff. Jensen threw a look at Josh. Josh grabbed his keys and left to give the doctor a lift home.
"You should get some sleep too when you're done here. It's been a tough day and you'll need your wits once we get out of the city," Jensen said, crumpling up the empty cartons.
"Sleep sounds good." Jared admitted around a yawn that gave Jensen a perfect view of his tonsils. "Only problem is where? I don't like the look of that carpet."
Jensen pulled a key from his pocket, "We have a second room."
Jared looked at the key, then back at his sister. He looked torn and Jensen could sympathise but the kid was like nine feet tall. Adrenaline would only get him so far before he crashed and burned. Fucked if Jensen was hauling his gigantic ass through a firefight. He tossed the key to Jared who snagged it midair then blinked at it like it was the tooth fairy or something.
"Go on, Jared, grab a couple of hours, I'll stay here and watch them," Jensen pushed.
"You're sure?" Jared asked.
"Yeah, go on," Jensen persisted, "I'll call you if anything happens."
Jared nodded finally, taking the key from Jensen, "Thanks, man. You need anything, anything, just call me, yeah?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
Jared paused in the doorway, thumb thumping on the wooden surround. Jensen frowned as he watched the younger man falter, trying to say something.
"Are... Will you... You'll be grabbing sleep later, yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll probably grab a couple of hours when Josh gets back, then swap with him before we head out. Got at least eight hours before we can move. Least that way, there'll always be someone with them," he gestured with his shoulder.
Jared looked out over the car park. Jensen could see the tips of his ears go dark red.
"Well, when you do want to ... Just knock on the door?"
Jensen blushed. The kid couldn’t mean… He wouldn’t… Sure, the kid was a teenager but he could go one night without jerking off, right? Thankfully, Jared was gone before he could ask.
Christ, if only they were finished the job, he'd be in there giving the kid a helping hand... Or maybe not. He'd never been that forward about picking up guys. He generally took opportunities rather than courting his own engagements. He ran a hand through his hair as he laughed at himself. He had to be the worst excuse for a gay guy. Didn't like the booming music of the gay bars, preferring instead quiet soldier bars with a decent beer and football on the TV. But unfortunately, it wasn't the best place to look for dates. Sure the city was fairly liberal these days but the mercs and the military were still a bit backwards when it came to this sort of thing. Asking a guy if he wanted to head back to yours for a beer and a blow was like asking if he killed babies in his spare time, and got about the same reaction - a fist to the face to get them down and a bullet to the brain.
It wasn't like he'd be seeing the boy again once they left the city. They were heading home after this, getting their heads down in the company of family. Whereas, the kid and his family would have to shelter themselves and find their own place in the world while Jensen was roaming the wilds of rural Texas.
Christ, he was tying himself in knots here. Wouldn't do much good to anyone if he didn't stow this shit and get his head back where it's supposed to be, watching for Kane's goons and making sure that Sam's okay. Speaking of, he went to her side and checked her temperature again. She was still warm, but no warmer than before, which was a relief. He ghosted back to the window and settled in to keep watch, resolutely not thinking about the room next door or stupidly gorgeous teases occupying said room.
He was still there, propped against the wall and watching the car park when Josh rolled back in a couple of hours later. Jensen suspected that he'd used to opportunity to go see Inez and sleep in his own bed, or rather the bed of their back up apartment. Couldn't blame him for that. Unless he manned up and invited her out to visit the family, it would be the last chance he'd get to see her in a while. And damn it, if Josh didn't do it, Jensen was going to. It was about time that Inez met Momma. The woman was as good as married to his brother and she still hadn't met his family. It was getting to the point where Jensen had his own ass to consider. His Momma wasn't going to be happy about this as it was.
The familiar knock came on the door and Jensen pulled it open.
"You good to take over?" he asked, not really giving him a chance to answer before he started to stow his guns.
"Yeah, grabbed some sleep at ours, figured that you wouldn't mind!"
"It's cool. I'll just grab a few next door. Holler if you need me.” Jensen said as he zipped his bag closed. "Miss Ferris seems fine, but she might be starting a fever so keep an eye on that, yeah? Megan woke up for a minute or two but she turned over and went back under afterwards."
"No problem, bro," Josh pulled his own guns out and started placing them on the table. "I got this covered!"
Jensen didn't argue, just left. He was tempted to just get another room but there was no point. He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks before he knocked on the door. Inside, it was quiet. Jensen knocked again, a little louder this time. He was on the verge of going for the lockpicks when he heard the shuffle of feet on the other side. The door cracked open just a few inches.
"Jeez, man, sorry. Was sacked out. Didn't hear you," Jared's voice was raspy and sleep-slurred. He swayed a little, leaning into the door as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.
Jensen's eyes travelled up and down the hard frame of the man who answered the door. No bruises, nothing that needed attention but where the hell had he been hiding that body? His clothes had been tight but somehow he'd missed the well toned abs and pecs. And Christ, the man wasn't wearing even a smile. Jensen forced himself to look up at the other man's eyes.
"So, you going to let me in, or am I gonna be stuck on the doorstep all night?" Jensen asked, reminding Jared that he actually had to move out of the doorway if Jensen was going to get in.
"Shit, yeah, sorry, man..." he moved.
Jared shuffled back, letting Jensen slip past him. The room was typical, the same flowered wallpaper and crappy carpets as the other room. The main focal point of the room was the bed. Singular. Just one double bed.
"The hell...?" Jensen muttered.
He was going to skin Josh for this one.
"Yeah, I know... Figured it would be a twin like the other one, but..." Jared scruffed his hair, ruffling it further. "Oh well, I don't mind if you don't. I mean, I'm too damned tired to do much more than roll over and go back to sleep, if that's what you're worried about!"
"Nah, man, I don't care, I need a pillow and a flat surface, maybe a blanket if I'm lucky and I'll fall asleep anywhere," Jensen yawned and dropped his bag on the floor.
"Sounds good."
Jared stumbled back towards the bed and face planted on it. Jensen winced. It looked like it had to hurt, although the wiggling and the struggling to get the blanket pulled out from under him had him biting his lip to keep from laughing at the other man's antics. Kid looked for all the world like a super-sized toddler getting settled. He pulled his weapon free from it's holster and put it on the locker on the side of the bed that Jared wasn't sprawled across. Next came the inner pants holster, the shirt and the trousers. He deliberated over the jockey shorts but kept them on, to the apparent disappointment of his bed mate to judge by the look on Jared's face.
Jensen smirked deciding to play with the boy a bit, "I don't put out on the first date. I'm a classy lady here. Gotta at least buy me dinner with your own damn money."
Jared huffed a laugh and turned so his back was to Jensen and just like that, he was asleep and snoring. Jensen rolled his eyes and settled under the blanket. With practiced ease, he cleared his mind and let sleep take him.
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