In our lifetime 3/3
***
They moved out an hour later. Jensen had almost laughed until he was crying when he saw Jared’s face when he finally showed him their means of transportation. Two hours into the journey, Jensen thought that it might have been a bad idea to call Jared a pussy.
Strong arms were clinging around his torso while Jared’s legs squeezed against his thighs. Like this morning in bed, Jensen was thoroughly trapped, and his cock seemed to think of it as a very good opportunity to report back to duty. Jensen just hoped that four hours on the bike wouldn’t be as long he feared they'd be.
In the end, they found Jeff almost by accident. Well, it was actually Sadie who found them. They'd been close to the location marked on the map. Jared had pulled it out at every stop they made, trying to figure out where they were going. It was hot that day and they finally picked a slightly shady spot near a little group of desert trees who happened to be growing rather tall at the edge of the desert.
Jensen was pretty sure that one of the cabins along the dirt road winding through the little tree plantation was Jeff’s. At least he'd hoped one of them was, and if not, that they were going the right way. His pulse had been racing, chest clenched in anticipation. He'd looked over at Jared, chewing on his lower lip and he knew he wasn’t the only one being hopeful and nervous at the same time. Neither of them knew what -- or who -- was waiting for them.
Jared had jerked his head up suddenly and had almost sprinted across the road, leaving Jensen scrabbling to follow. It was then that Jensen saw the dog. He heard Jared’s constant shouts of ‘Sadie,' which made it kind of clear that they were on the right track.
Jeff hadn’t been too far away and it almost put Jensen on his ass when the man stepped from the between the trees. Jeff looked good, even though there were dark rings under his eyes and looked like he'd lost weight since the last time Jensen had seen him. But otherwise, he looked okay, healthy, not hurt.
“Oh my God, Jeff!”
Jared was playing octopus again, giving Jensen the opportunity to check their surroundings. Everything looked clear, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. He'd felt eyes on them during almost the entire ride up to the desert, but he never saw anyone behind them. At least no one who looked suspicious. Maybe it was just his cop training, but he definitely felt that they weren’t alone.
They kept the greetings and talking to a minimum while they remained outside. Jeff was apparently as paranoid as Jensen, and urged them to get the bike hidden behind the cabin. Then he made them sit down in the main room while he went outside to check the premise.
The second Jeff was back, he was assaulted by questions from Jared and had a hard time calming him down. Jensen just sat there and tried not hard not to laugh, even though he wanted to. He decided that they were more like father and son than uncle and nephew, which made sense considering what Jared had told Jensen.
Jeff finally escaped Jared’s interrogation when he went to the small kitchen to make coffee. Jensen, on the other hand, saved his questions for the right moment. That eventually came when Jeff settled down into the worn out lazy chair set across the small living room from the couch Jensen and Jared occupied.
“So, what the hell did you think you were doing with this stunt?”
Jeff sighed, looked at both Jared and Jensen, then rubbed a hand over his short hair. A motion Jensen had watched Jeff do countless times in the past. It meant that Jeff was nervous and nothing he would saw was going to be good news.
“Okay." He paused, sighed and then went on. "Before I tell you everything, I just want to say that I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you or make you suffer the grief of thinking that I was dead. It just seemed like the only way I could get out." He paused again, looking both of them hard before continuing. "It really seemed like the best way to get both of you involved without anybody realizing. I am sorry.”
Yeah, Jensen thought with an inward sigh, this was so not going to be good. Jared seemed to think the same because he moved closer to Jensen, while at the same time focusing all his attention on Jeff, motioning him to continue.
“Okay. It all started when Murray decided to take the military network project away from me. I had to check some numbers and found that some of them just didn’t add up. I went over them again and found evidence that there were odd connections between the network and AMANDA. What I didn’t know at that time, but Murray was already watching me.”
“Chad? Why? I mean, I don’t think Chad had anything to do with it.”
Jeff looked at Jared with a rather sad look in his eyes, and Jensen could tell that the answer wasn't going to be good. He could feel that Jared probably knew it as well as, especially when he slumped against Jensen’s shoulders and sighed. Jensen didn't say anything, but just took the cup of the steaming coffee Jeff had placed on the table in front of them and handed it silently to Jared.
Jeff, who watched the exchange with only a slightly raised eyebrow, went on when Jared kept silent.
“I'm sorry, kiddo. I know you've known him since school, but he changed. A lot. I also know that you haven’t really worked closely with him for a couple of months. But, he's ... I don’t know. I just have evidence that he sold most of the company to a military branch and then sold them the codes for the network overrides. Which means that anyone with those codes can send orders to any device, part or robot unit connected to AMANDA. Imagine that in the hands of the military. I objected against his plans, that’s why he pulled me from the whole program, had me working other things to keep me occupied and away from you.”
Jared gasped, shook his head and just closed down even more. Jensen let him, because he knew by now that this was Jared’s way of dealing with bad news. Jeff just frowned, but refrained from saying anything. Jensen used the break to get a word in.
“So you what? Grabbed the evidence, set up your own death and vanished? To do what exactly?”
“Yeah kind of. I mean I was there when the explosion happened but I had taken a sedative to slow my heart rate and life signs so that the life form detector couldn’t pick me up. I programmed one of the labbots so it would take me to my car and get me inside without anybody noticing. I needed to get away to figure out what to do with the evidence. I couldn’t do that with AMANDA constantly online and Murray watching me almost 24/7."
“I spread the little blood and tissue to make it more real. I recorded the message to you Jensen, because I at least had the hope you knew me well enough to get that something wasn’t right and would come looking. I wanted Jared to be safe as well. I thought it was kind of a good idea to have protect him. I mean I knew Murray would set him up to help you. And well I didn’t think you guys would find me that fast. I was counting on a few more days to come up with a plan. I know how to get things from the network, I developed most of it. So I managed to download most of it without AMANDA alerting anyone, which I guess was lucky on my part."
Jeff shrugged, sighed and took a sip of his coffee. Jensen had the feeling there was more to come. When Jeff continued Jensen felt Jared move a little closer, seeking comfort through their touching knees.
“Right now, though, I just know that if the deal Murray has set up with the military gets approved, no one can ensure the safety of humankind anymore. Everyone and everything would be connected to one single person who, in turn, could manipulate robots, and by extension people, on any whim he might have.”
Jensen shuddered. This version of the future wasn’t the one he wanted to see.
“Why? Why would he do that? How could he get the codes?”
Jared’s voices sounded rough, broken and yet somehow still strong. Jensen could tell what was going on in Jared’s head, but he wanted to know the answer Jared's question as well. Jeff, who was making a new round of coffee, was about to answer when there sounded a new voice behind Jensen.
“For money and power. What do you think, Jay?”
Jensen spun around, gun drawn and poised for a fight. A fight that didn’t come, because the second Jensen turned to pointed the gun at the intruder, a robot knocked the gun out of Jensen’s hand. One well placed hit and the gun was sent flying through the small cabin’s main room.
“Oh please. Gentlemen. Stay calm and we'll solve this matter in no time.”
“How the hell did you get here, Chad?”
Murray turned toward Jeff, who was standing in the doorway separating the kitchen and the main room, a combat robot behind him. Jensen realized that Murray didn’t even need a gun himself, he had the robots doing the dirty work for him.
“Well Jeff, I had your pretty little boy-toy and his new boyfriend tracked. Not that easy with an ever vigilant police detective, but since I knew how to get the network working for me, it really wasn’t all that hard. I knew they were searching your lab and then saw them doing the same at your house. Saw Jared there taking something and it was so easy to assume it was the evidence you have been hiding. Oh Jeff, did you really think I wouldn’t know all about that?
“I knew you were downloading way too much data for it just to be the work I assigned to you. Oh and not to mention the places you took it from. I just didn’t know what you’d be doing with it or where you’d hid it. Never thought you’d go for killing yourself though. You had me worried there for a while you know. I searched the lab, the house and would have gone to your house again but those two there did the job for me. Followed them to get it. I have to admit I was a little miffed that it didn’t work. So I had to watch a little longer. Followed them from Detective Ackles apartment this morning.”
Jensen cursed himself. He should have known, should have followed his instincts and aborted the trip to find Jeff as soon as he'd felt watched and followed. This was partly his fault, and now he didn’t even have his gun anymore.
“You…. It was you sending the house into lock down.”
There wasn’t a hint of a question in Jared’s voice. He just stared at Chad and Jensen thought it might actually partly be out of amazement. Amazement about the utter insanity of the whole scenario. Jensen wasn’t far from feeling that amazement himself, but he was also just watching Chad to see what would happen next. He wasn’t willing to let the situation get out of control.
“Yes, yes… me. And really, I thought it would work. I must admit that I didn’t think you guys would survive the cleaner attack either. But I guess I can be happy you did, made it easier for me to find you, Jeff. Not that I actually thought about finding you, I just was curious where they were going and if I would get another chance at getting the evidence from them. Guess it wasn’t the evidence after all huh?“
“You tried to kill them? You actually manipulated the network so that the robot laws were overridden? God, Chad what have you done? Once the codes are online, it’s all the easier to write new ones. This was not supposed to happen. You had no right to do that.”
“Blah, blah, blah . Always the same with you, Jeff. Humankind here, humankind there. I just wanted a nice life and a good chunk of the money the company owed me because they took my codes and never paid me for them. And really, who cares anyway? The general offered me a good position. And now, if you’d please be so kind as to hand over the evidence you have? The military men are waiting and I hate to disappoint them.”
“You're insane. You wrote those codes for the company. It was your job.”
It all went downhill from there. While Murray was focused on Jeff as he moved toward the computer near the kitchen, Jared moved away from the couch, slowly but Jensen could see that he was getting further and further away. It was such a slow movement that not even the robots seemed to detect it.
Then Jared had a gun in his hand and was firing wildly at the robots blocking the entrance. Jared dove behind the couch for cover and Jensen took the opportunity to dive under the coffee table. He tried to move toward the fireplace where he'd seen an iron hook hanging. He could see Jeff’s feet moving, could see Murray’s shoes leaving the floor and then Murray’s body being knocked down was filling Jensen’s field of vision. He was unconscious.
A second later Jared’s voice sounded in the deadly quiet of the room.
“All clear. Jensen? You okay?”
Jensen crawled out from under the table and was greeted with the sight of slumped over robots while Jeff was brandishing a tablet screen that seemed to be the remote control.
“Got it off of Murray.”
Jensen sighed, relaxed and then chocked on a screen when a hand closed around his neck, squeezing the air right out of him. He heard Jeff shout, heard a shot, another one and then he was on his knees panting, facing a combat robot shot two times in the vulnerable AI component with simple bullets out of jensen’s own gun. He’d so dance in front of Mike and shout 'I told you so' when they finally got out of there. When he looked up, still panting harshly, Jared was just opening his eyes again.
“Did you just shoot at me with your eyes closed?”
Jared shrugged and grinned a little.
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“Never do that again.”
“I don’t plan to. Promise.”
Jeff’s shout brought them back to the present and all Jensen could see was Murray back on his feet and charging toward them. Laser gun in hand and a mad expression plastered on his face. Jensen hated when they stood up again, it always meant someone was getting hurt.
“The back closet. Get into the back closet” Jeff shouted and then threw himself in Murray’s way, effectively felling the man mid run. Jensen didn’t lose any time; he grabbed Jared and dove into the closet that Jeff had shouted about. He turned around, grabbed the door and yanked it shut with everything he had.
The second the door closed, bullets rained against it, make it clear that the closet was bulletproof safe and, for now, a good place to hide.
“Jeff.” Jared whimpered and pressed closer to Jensen. Yeah, Jeff was still out there and Jensen didn’t like that. Didn’t like at all.
“Shhh. I am sure he’ll be fine.” If only Jensen could believe that.
The space was small and they were crammed together, pushed close. It was almost comforting to feel Jared’s harsh breathing against his neck. He could feel Jared’s heart thump against his back, smelled the combination of sweat, spicy aftershave and Jared.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. This was completely the wrong time to get a hard-on. Not with them being decidedly close to getting shot and Jeff out there on his own, fighting of Murray and his crazy robots. Jensen turned around and managed not to hit Jared or step on his foot.
Jared’s breath was still harsh, Jensen could tell he was close to freaking out and, really, who could blame him? It was a rather strange and dangerous situation they were in and Jensen didn’t even have any idea how to get out of it.
The small emergency light above the door cast enough light for them to see each other. And even in this light, Jensen could see how pale Jared was, how much the blood on his face made him look even worse. He reached out and pushed a stray hair back behind Jared’s ear. He needed the touch now, and the way Jared leaned into it he did, too.
“Jen … I ... in case this goes out bad. I wanted to say .. I ...”
“Shhhh. I know Jared me, too. In case you haven’t noticed, I kind of like you.”
“Yeah?” The ghost of a smile appeared across Jared’s lips and Jensen felt good about that, it was the right thing to say. The right time and the right place, if only not the right circumstances.
“Yes.”
Their lips almost touched. Just an inch between them, fists clenched in shirts and jackets and neither really moved. Harsh breath collided, moved over hot flushed skin and Jensen barely suppressed moan. This, he thought, might just be their last kiss. A goodbye and Jensen couldn’t bring himself to take the last step, to bridge the final distance between them.
Jared’s eyes were closed. Jensen could almost swear there were tears. Jared had moved his arms so he could wrap them tightly around Jensen. And Jensen obliged, moving into the embrace, almost as desperate as Jared to be close.
They moved toward each other slowly, gravitating closer, like magnets. There was tension, even death, in the air, but Jensen felt oddly calm. It was like he was finally where he belonged. In Jared’s arms.
Jensen finally moved in to close this last inch, skin was touching and lips moving when something plunged through the door, hooked into Jensen’s back and pulled.
Jared’s scream echoed on his ears, pain exploded in his body and then nothing. Jensen couldn't do anything. Nothing made sense. He couldn’t breath, knew he was choking on his own blood. He though he could hear gunfire around him, like someone was shooting from his own gun. There were more screams, louder and more urgent than before.
So this was it, then, Jensen thought. He'd hoped for a little more time with Jared before the end. In his line of work, dying was a risk they'd all faced. But really, he thought bitterly, this was just cruel. His mind was clouded with pain, but he could tell that Jared was with him now. Could feel him close.
Jensen smiled, reached out with a hand and sighed a little when darkness finally claimed him.
***
He couldn’t move, or so he thought. He felt like it was under water and that if was what his after life was going to be -- it really sucked. Struggling to open his eyes and move his head, Jensen moaned loudly. So, the pain was still there. That could only mean one thing.
He wasn’t dead.
“Don’t move. You are hurt pretty badly. The chopper will be here in a minute.”
Was that Mike? What was Mike doing here? And where was Jeff? Jared. Where was Jared?
“Jared?” Jensen didn’t even recognise his own voice anymore.
“Don’t worry, Jen. He's here. He's fine. A little shaken up but fine. Saved your life. Hit your emergency signal to call us here.”
Jensen finally managed to open his eyes. Mike was the first thing he saw, and he'd never been so happy to see him. Mike looked grim, worried, but apologetic. Jensen sighed, he could deal with that later.
He turned his head a little, looking for the one person he wanted to see the most. And there he was, right by his side and smiling a little, tears tracking down his face and clothes covered in blood. Jensen winced as he reached out, not caring about the pain the movement sent down his spine. He just wanted to touch Jared, wanted to make sure he was okay, that he was really there.
Jared slowly linked their fingers together. They stayed like that and wouldn’t separate when the medi chopper was there. Jared was there in the hospital, sitting next to Jensen’s bed when he was conscious enough to sit up. He was simply there. Never leaving, but never saying anything either.
It took Jensen days to get Jared to talk, to get him to work past the shock. It was a slow process, almost painful because Jared was reliving everything that had happened. Mike was there for some of it, taking notes and statements from both Jared and Jensen.
Through Mike, Jensen learned that Jeff was okay but had a broken leg and would be bedridden for a while. Jensen also heard the parts of the story that Jared wasn’t ready to tell yet, the parts where Jared had to shoot Chad in order to make him release the remote control for the robot that had Jensen speared and pinned to one of the cabin walls. The parts where Jensen learned that his artificial rib bones and shoulder blade had saved his life, had kept the metallic robot arm from severing important organs.
The day Jeff was released, he visited them and Jensen finally got the third side of the story. He was almost amused as Jared blushed when Jeff related how furious Jared had been, how he'd stormed out of the closet, focused only on Chad. Mindless, headless as Jeff had called it. But when Chad had laughed and gripped the remote even tighter, he seemed to be taunting Jared with Jensen’s life, and Jared found he just didn't have a choice.
Jensen’s heart clenched when Jeff told him how Jared had knelt next to Jensen’s torn body and silently rocked him in his arms. When Jeff told him that, Jensen was glad that Jared was out getting coffee and pie. The picture of a blood smeared, crying Jared would forever be branded inside his mind. He never wanted to forget it, either.
When Jared came back, Jensen’s own tears had long since dried and Jeff was mercilessly mocking him for falling for Jared. That had been the end of any serious conversation, at least for a while. Jensen didn’t mind it that much. A smiling Jared was much better than any other version.
Jared had saved Jensen’s life, but had to take another to do it. There would be a lot of talking to do in order to get Jared past it, but Jensen wasn’t thinking about leaving. He couldn’t imagine how life would be without having Jared around.
Things would go back to normal, even if it took them a lifetime.
Epilogue
Jensen sat on the edge of the porch, book on his knees and Sadie at his feet. The sun was low and it would be cold soon. He was waiting for the signal to come inside.
Jared was somewhere around, training their new puppy and trying to make Jeff visit for the weekend. He'd forbidden Jensen to set foot inside the cabin until he was allowed. Jensen just hoped it wouldn’t take too long, the light was vanishing quickly and he really wanted to finish reading his book.
Jeff was busy again, was trying to get LifeTech back on track and correct the damage done by Murray’s greed and short-sightedness. It was a lot of work and neither Jared nor Jensen had been able to talk to him as much as they wanted to.
It had been six months since the incident at the cabin and Jensen was almost ready for duty. The recovery had been long, cruel and frustrating. But Jared had been there through it all. And, to Jensen's surprise, Mike had been there as well. And, he had to admit, it worked. He would be back in the field within the next few days. He definitely though it was about damn time. Jensen hated desk work at such a level that people started to make fun of him for cursing all the time.
Jensen had never expected it to last, never really imagined Jared to stick around. The circumstances had been less than ideal and there had been many moments when Jensen was close to calling it quits and he knew Jared had been as well. They had fought for it, for them to work. Hard and exhausting. And more emotional than Jensen had ever thought he could be.
He was okay now. Both he and Jared were okay. And, more amusingly, his reputation within the force was improving. He still didn’t like robots, AIs or technology too much, but Jared was good at making him compromise. He could finally, at least a little bit, understand what good things robots offered.
“Jen?”
“Yes?”
“Come in. It’s all ready.”
When Jensen entered the small main room of Jeff’s cabin, he just stared. Everything was sparkly and colourful and looked more like a children’s birthday party than the nice little dinner that Jared had promised him. He would never let Jared cook again if this was the result.
When he moved to touch one of the sparkly balloons that say ‘Welcome back to work!’, it flickered. A hologram then. Thank God for small favours.
“You should see your face right now.” Jared was standing at the dinner table and smiling, all wide and happy. Jensen liked that view, liked that they're able to have this. Jared flicked his thumb and the holographic children’s birthday party disappeared immediately. All that remained was the set table and a candle in the center.
“I like it, Jay. Thank you.”
“Just wanted to make something nice before you're gone all day, working your ass off out in the streets.”
Jensen smiled, walked around the table and pulled Jared into a kiss. The kiss turned out sweet, slow and everything Jensen wanted. It was nice to have someone back in his life, even if it had gotten off to a slightly dramatic beginning.
None of that mattered, though. All Jensen cared about was that Jared was there, safe and sound, smiling widely again after dark months, and looking happy. And that Jensen was there as well -- equally safe, sound and happy -- made it even better. If Jensen was the type who believed in fairytale endings, which he obviously wasn't, he might say that they were going to have their happily ever after.
The End.