The Smile You Can't Forget (13)
chapter thirteen
When the news came, it wasn't good.
The doctor was grim-faced, phrases like 'difficult decision' and 'minimal chance of recovery' pouring from his mouth amongst platitudes. Jared and Jensen stood slightly seperated from the rest of Jared's family, and the young man's face grew paler and paler as the doctor continued. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were being told: Jared's dad wasn't going to get any better. The dozens of machines working to keep him alive weren't there to help him get better, they were only prolonging the inevitable.
Sherri broke down almost completely at the news, and despite everything, Jensen couldn't help the painful pang of sympathy in his gut. From what Jared had told him, Sherri and Gerri had been childhood sweethearts, and they had been married since Sherri turned twenty. He couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling now, knowing that she was losing someone that she clearly loved.
He just wished she realized that Jared was losing someone he loved, too.
***
He and Jared waited in the hallway whilst the rest of the Padalecki family visited with Gerri.
There had been a moment of hesitation in the doorway, when Jeff had reached out and gently squeezed his brother's shoulder, and Jensen had almost been sure that Jeff was going to nudge Jared into the room alongside Megan and their mother. Instead, he'd offered the two of a sympathetic look as Sherri had caught sight of her husband and broken down all over again, dissapearing into the room with a shell-shocked looking Megan in tow.
Jared wasn't looking any better himself, but it was the utter lack of reaction that had Jensen worried.
The omega was still pale and shaky, and Jensen knew that he was going to have to figure out a way to coax some food into him soon, but he hadn't said a word since they'd first caught sight of the doctor, and his eyes were red-rimmed but dry. When Jensen nudged him into a chair placed just outside of the door, he slumped into it obediently, a hand automically coming up to press against his stomach.
The hospital seemed eerily quiet around them and Jensen sunk into the seat next to his mate silently, wishing yet again that he could think of something to say that didn't sound woefully inadequate. Instead, he settled for wrapping his arm around the younger man's shoulders and tangling his free hand with Jared's in the omega's lap. The young man's breath hitched, and for a moment Jensen waited patiently for the floodgates to open, but Jared sucked in a deep breath and visibly pulled himself back together instead.
Jensen almost would have preferred his mate to scream and shout, perhaps sob hysterically. At least then he'd know what he was thinking.
***
It was hours later that the Padalecki clan re-emerged.
Sherri and Megan had their arms wrapped around each other, as if they were trying to hold each other together, and neither of them acknowledged Jared or Jensen as they made their way slowly down the hallway. Jensen watched them go with a surge of incredulous anger; he understood grief, but he couldn't comprehend a parent being so callous towards their own child when they were evidently needed. It wasn't until the two of them dissapeared around the corner that he realized Jeff hadn't followed them.
As Jensen watched, he slowly crouched down next to his younger brother and rested a gentle hand on the back of his neck.
It was all of the invitation Jared needed, his stoic demeanour finally cracking as he curled forwards into his brother's embrace, the force of his sobs forcing him to the floor with his brother in a tangled ball of misery. The two of them gripped onto each other and sobbed, and Jensen slid across into his mate's vacated chair, reaching forward to gently squeeze his shoulder, offering his silent support as the two brothers grieved together.
It was a long time before the two of them pulled themselves together, and Jeff urged Jared back into his seat as soon as he noticed that the two of them were curled up together on the floor, grimacing a little as he rose to his feet. Jensen offered him his seat, but the oldest of the Padalecki siblings shook his head with a sad smile.
"Mom gave them permission to turn the life support machines off," He admitted quietly for a few moments, shifting awkwardly. "The, uh, doctor said that they'd do it in a couple of hours. Give us a chance to say goodbye."
Jared's breath hitched and another tear broke free, but he nodded his head. "Are you staying, or...?"
"Mom says she doesn't want to be here when it happens. I don't really blame her to be honest, but he shouldn't be alone." Jeff sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna drop her and Megan off at home and then come back to sit with him."
Jared hesitated, and then reached out to squeeze his brother's hand. "You don't have to, you know. I'll sit with him. I kind of want to be there with him regardless, if that's okay."
Jeff sighed. "He's your dad, too, kid. You don't need to ask permission."
Jared just shrugged.
"Yeah, I - if that's okay? I don't really want to leave mom and Megan right now."
"Of course."
Jeff smiled tiredly, reaching over to smooth a hand over the top of his baby brother's head, before dropping a kiss there. "Give me a call if you need anything, okay? Jensen's right. We're family. We need to stick together."
"I will." Jared promised.
Jensen reached over to shake the hand that was offered to him. "We're here if you need anything, either. Okay?"
"Thanks, man." Jeff sighed gratefully. He turned, hesitating before he went to leave. "Jared, you should know... dad loved you. I know that might not seem like the truth, but he did. Mom's just mad."
Jared nodded, eyes looking watery again. "Love you."
"Love you too, kid."
The two of them watched Jeff go in silence, and Jensen waited patiently for Jared to pull himself to his feet. He hesitated slightly at the doorway, unsure whether Jared would want some time alone with his father, but the look Jared shot him over his shoulder was reassurance enough that he was more than welcome.
He crossed the room hesitantly, and it wasn't until he settled into one of the chair's at the Padalecki patriarch's bedside that he paused to take in the sight before him. The last time Jensen had seen him, Gerri had been tall and intimidating; now it was almost as if he'd shrunk, his body boneless agains the white sheets underneath him. His skin was a pale hue that matched Jared's, and the vent protruding from his mouth made him seem strangely robotic, the rise and fall of his chest too even to be human.
Jared made a choked noise next to him, and if Jensen was surprised when the younger man sank down onto his lap rather than the empty chair next to him, he did his best not to show it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around his mate as Jared stretched out a hand to tangle his fingers with his father's, and quietly began to talk.
***
It was three hours after Jared and Jensen had entered Gerri's hospital room that the doctor arrived.
Jared held his father's hand, tears dripping steadily down his face, speaking quietly until the steady beeps of the machine faded into nothing. The last click and whirr of the ventilator sounded too loud in the quiet room, and as sobs overtook the younger man's body, Jensen gently reached out and untangled Jared's fingers from his father's before the young man could feel them grow cool.
Jared didn't watch when the doctor pulled a sheet up over his father's head, didn't react at all when the doctor and orderlies began quietly unattaching various monitors and leads, and he didn't lift his head for one last look as they began to wheel his father away.
Instead, he clung of Jensen like his life depended on it, and Jensen clung back.
<-- previous | next -->