Hazard
Doctor Jeff Morgan left the cell and closed the door as quietly as he could, before turning a furious gaze on the two Officers before him.
“I’ve sedated him, he should be out of it for the rest of the night.”He glanced back into the cell where Jared lay almost comatose and Jeff took a visible deep breath in an effort to control emotions that were bubbling close to the surface. He turned back to the two men and levelling them with his dirtiest stare he continued;
“As I said, he should be calm for the rest of the night, but...the dreams that kid is suffering, not much I can do to help there I’m afraid. Poor kid...”
“What happened doc? Have you any idea why he would have reacted like that?”
Jim Beaver was the one to speak up, Chris Kane had been unnaturally silent since the incident and if Jim knew Chris at all which he did, very well, Chris was now re-evaluating the whole case in his mind and he was sure he would find out soon enough what conclusions he had come to.
Now though, Jeff focused his angry glare on Jim.
“I can only guess Jim, Sharon never hinted at anything regarding Jared, she was extremely protective most of the time overly so, but.... I don’t even know where she lived previous to coming here, I know that it was somewhere in Texas, that’s about it....but I will tell you, whatever it was, Jared is almost certainly reliving something. As for you two....”
He focused now mostly on Kane, who didn’t react at all which was surprising in itself.
“I warned you Kane! I told you I was going to step in on his behalf if you went near him again, you can deny it all you like son, but, this has your handiwork written all over it! And you Jim! I should fucking report both of you for police brutality! You stood back and watched this happen Jim!”
Jim had the grace to look slightly ashamed and cleared his throat before answering.
“Look Jeff, come one now, I know the kid went through something bad, and I’m sorry as hell for that, but, whatever happened to him before, it obviously affected him in some way now ‘cause look what happened to my son, just from knowing him? We got a confession Jeff! And witnesses to the confession! Like I said I’m sorry for how it went down, but as far as I’m concerned the result is what matters and we have my son’s killer behind bars now!”
Jeff regarded the two men, seemingly lost in contemplative thought, Jims face was set in a determined line and Jeff knew there was no way Jim was gonna let Jared go now without a fight. He was convinced he had his son’s killer and he wasn’t about to let him go, and Jeff knew from past experience that when Jim got like this nothing was going to stop him. All Jeff could do now was keep an eye on them all until Jared was convicted, there was no help for Jared now. He sighed.
“Alright, alright Jim, I won’t take this any further, but you keep this maniac away from Jared from now on, we clear?”
Both men were so caught up in their battle of wills that neither questioned the unusual silence and lack of response from Chris Kane. He stood exactly in the same spot he had been standing in for the past hour, lost in thought and eyes fixed now on the large man thrown in the cot in the cell. Something wasn’t right here, he could feel it.
For the first time since Jensen had gone missing, Chris had taken a step back, which is what he should have done from the beginning and taken a good look, and something definitely wasn’t right.
He knew that he had let emotions cloud his judgement. He was in love with Jensen, had been for a long time. Jensen was the most amazing person he had ever met. His quiet front hid a nerve of steel, and his calm demeanour hid a mean temper, especially if someone he cared for was threatened, that even Chris was wary of it. He had been funny and smart and friendly and he had loved Jared. He knew that now.
What had happened a few hours ago had shocked Chris into making a full stop. He had been so hell bent on finding Jensen’s killer, and that coupled with the almost insane jealousy he had felt toward Jared had twisted what was normally a very cool mind and he had wanted Jared to be guilty. He had wanted to hurt him, and oh god he did. He had so badly needed Jared to break and confess that yes he did kill Jensen.
But what he had gotten was terror, and fear, and a loss Jared had shown so clearly on his face, and the ramblings and fight Jared had put up. Those were not the actions of a guilty man, sane or otherwise. Chris had been around long enough to know the difference. For the first time since all this began, Chris Kane listened to the one thing that had never failed him before, but he had shut out till now, his gut instinct.
And this instinct was now screaming at him.
Jared Padalecki was innocent.
They had the wrong man.
Oh god! If Jared was innocent then.....Jesus Christ if Jared was innocent then he had just abused an innocent man, treated him with as much brutality as he could, he had mocked and taunted, Fuck he could have killed him! If Jared was innocent then he had reduced an innocent man to a quivering wreck. One who now was thrown in a dingy jail cell, sedated and filled with nightmares that Chris had caused to come to the surface.
He suddenly needed to get out of there, he had so much to think about, sort out in his head and he was feeling closed in all of a sudden. Grabbing his jacket and slamming his hat down on his head, he muttered something about needing air and walked out leaving two open mouthed men in his wake.
Once outside the station he wrapped the jacket more closely around himself and started to walk, having no idea whatsoever where he was headed, he was too lost in thought. Thoughts ran rampant through his head as he struggled to come to terms with his realisation and the guilt that followed.
Whatever people thought of Chris Kane, very few knew the real man underneath. Jensen had though, he guessed that was why he had fallen so much in love with him. Jensen had seen the real man behind the tough, no nonsense, sometimes violent exterior.
He had known Jensen for years, he wasn’t a native of Hazard just like Jensen, he had met him at the Police Academy all those years ago and had formed an instant bond. They were so alike yet so different it was funny sometimes. Where Jensen was gay and had never hidden the fact, Chris had known he was gay for years but told no one, not even Jensen.
They both had a temper that scared a normal person, Chris being quick to react with a temper as fiery as his personality, and Jensen’s, wow, Jensen’s he had always known to be the more dangerous one.
Jensen’s was slower to come to the fore having always been known for his cool head, but once Jensen lost it, he would always react with a cold calculated fury that left the poor bastard that had drawn him out in no doubt. Jensen thought before he acted, even in anger, he thought and then proceeded to take down his foe with a precision that was almost beautiful to see.
He had come to Hazard after Jensen had contacted him, letting him know he was staying on as his step father’s deputy after the death of his beloved Mother to cancer two years ago. He had told Chris that Jim was on the look out for another good officer and Chris had jumped at the chance for a change and had come straight down.
He had found the people of Hazard, truth be told to be the most backward, biased people he had ever met. How Jensen coped with being an out of the closet gay man he didn’t know, but he had the feeling that holding the position of the sheriff’s step son and now deputy had brought a lot to his favour. Chris certainly had never had any intentions of outing himself there of all places. But as he had watched the friendship grow between Jensen and the man he had come to know as the town freak and weirdo, he had become desperate. Jealousy had clawed at his gut then when six months ago, about four months before Sharon Padalecki passed away, it had become obvious to him that something more was happening.
Jensen thought he was keeping it hidden but any fool could see that Jensen was in love and that Jensen was the reason for Jared’s smile. He had tried to deal with it, telling himself that he wasn’t really seeing what was staring him in the face. He had always hoped that maybe some day Jensen would realise that it was Chris he loved, and he had blatantly refused to accept the fact that Jensen’s heart now belonged to a man who was known as nothing more than a joke in this town.
It had been jealousy that had forced his confession out of him the night he had confessed all to Jensen, and hurt and a dented pride that had made him try and force a kiss on Jensen. Jensen had reacted with his usual cold, calm, fury. He had told Chris straight up that it was their years of friendship that was preventing him from kicking his ass then and there.
But then Chris had made the mistake of calling Jared names in his fury, saying Jared was nothing more than a joke, a freak of nature that the town had been laughing at for years and Jensen’s reaction had been instant.
The cold fury had turned into an ice storm as his eyes had turned a jade green and he had pinned Chris to the wall with ease, telling him that nothing would prevent him from breaking Chris’s neck if he ever, ever spoke about Jared like that again. No ten year friendship, nothing. He had released Chris then and walked away.
That had been a month ago, and it hadn’t been mentioned since, and things had almost returned to normal. Jensen choosing to forgive and forget as long as Chris kept his distance and didn’t mention Jared again. Chris had genuinely thought he had been dealing with it, he was sure he had been, until Jensen had been murdered and he had let his emotions cloud his judgment and almost killed the man Jensen had loved.
Thoughts of his actions a few hours ago brought the feeling of guilt right back to the surface and his stomach churned with guilt. He couldn’t take back what he had done, but he could make damn sure that Jared was vindicated and the right killer put down. Looking up suddenly and blinking he realised he had walked out to the edge of town and down to the river that Jared had told him he and Jensen had parted at.
Sitting down on the cold ground on the bank, he pushed all feelings of guilt out of his head, knowing guilt wasn’t going to help Jared now. He needed a clear mind and a plan. Jim wasn’t an option, he was determined to see Jared go down for this and nothing but cold solid proof was going to stop him now. Welling was a fucking weasel, always had been, with the cold silent way he used to watch both him and Jensen, and he could never bring himself to trust the man.
Which left him with Jeff.
Jeff had been a close friend of Sharon Padalecki and, her doctor for years. He knew Jared, he knew the family, and he seemed pretty concerned about Jared in the last 24 hours so it was a good place to start. He would talk to Jeff. Maybe ask is there anything he could have missed when examining the body, anything that would point the finger at someone else, in any other direction. Maybe he would go and try and talk to Jared in the morning, he snorted to himself at that one. Like Jared was ever going to trust him now, but he had to try, for Jensen.
He had to help Jared for Jensen’s sake.
Decisions made and clear in his mind, Chris felt marginally better and clearer than he had since this whole thing began. He took a deep breath and looked out over the murky waters of the river and spoke softly.
“I’m sorry Jensen, I fucked up man, but I’m gonna fix it. I promise you. I’m gonna make things right again Jensen. Make you proud.”
Getting to his feet and rubbing himself down, Chris made a resolution; He had failed to keep his best friend alive, failed to save him. But he would now do the next best thing; he would save Jared Padalecki’s life.
He would do this for Jensen.
Wrapping the jacket tight around himself once more, he started back toward town, and a chat with Jeff Morgan.
Chapter 5
“I’ve sedated him, he should be out of it for the rest of the night.”He glanced back into the cell where Jared lay almost comatose and Jeff took a visible deep breath in an effort to control emotions that were bubbling close to the surface. He turned back to the two men and levelling them with his dirtiest stare he continued;
“As I said, he should be calm for the rest of the night, but...the dreams that kid is suffering, not much I can do to help there I’m afraid. Poor kid...”
“What happened doc? Have you any idea why he would have reacted like that?”
Jim Beaver was the one to speak up, Chris Kane had been unnaturally silent since the incident and if Jim knew Chris at all which he did, very well, Chris was now re-evaluating the whole case in his mind and he was sure he would find out soon enough what conclusions he had come to.
Now though, Jeff focused his angry glare on Jim.
“I can only guess Jim, Sharon never hinted at anything regarding Jared, she was extremely protective most of the time overly so, but.... I don’t even know where she lived previous to coming here, I know that it was somewhere in Texas, that’s about it....but I will tell you, whatever it was, Jared is almost certainly reliving something. As for you two....”
He focused now mostly on Kane, who didn’t react at all which was surprising in itself.
“I warned you Kane! I told you I was going to step in on his behalf if you went near him again, you can deny it all you like son, but, this has your handiwork written all over it! And you Jim! I should fucking report both of you for police brutality! You stood back and watched this happen Jim!”
Jim had the grace to look slightly ashamed and cleared his throat before answering.
“Look Jeff, come one now, I know the kid went through something bad, and I’m sorry as hell for that, but, whatever happened to him before, it obviously affected him in some way now ‘cause look what happened to my son, just from knowing him? We got a confession Jeff! And witnesses to the confession! Like I said I’m sorry for how it went down, but as far as I’m concerned the result is what matters and we have my son’s killer behind bars now!”
Jeff regarded the two men, seemingly lost in contemplative thought, Jims face was set in a determined line and Jeff knew there was no way Jim was gonna let Jared go now without a fight. He was convinced he had his son’s killer and he wasn’t about to let him go, and Jeff knew from past experience that when Jim got like this nothing was going to stop him. All Jeff could do now was keep an eye on them all until Jared was convicted, there was no help for Jared now. He sighed.
“Alright, alright Jim, I won’t take this any further, but you keep this maniac away from Jared from now on, we clear?”
Both men were so caught up in their battle of wills that neither questioned the unusual silence and lack of response from Chris Kane. He stood exactly in the same spot he had been standing in for the past hour, lost in thought and eyes fixed now on the large man thrown in the cot in the cell. Something wasn’t right here, he could feel it.
For the first time since Jensen had gone missing, Chris had taken a step back, which is what he should have done from the beginning and taken a good look, and something definitely wasn’t right.
He knew that he had let emotions cloud his judgement. He was in love with Jensen, had been for a long time. Jensen was the most amazing person he had ever met. His quiet front hid a nerve of steel, and his calm demeanour hid a mean temper, especially if someone he cared for was threatened, that even Chris was wary of it. He had been funny and smart and friendly and he had loved Jared. He knew that now.
What had happened a few hours ago had shocked Chris into making a full stop. He had been so hell bent on finding Jensen’s killer, and that coupled with the almost insane jealousy he had felt toward Jared had twisted what was normally a very cool mind and he had wanted Jared to be guilty. He had wanted to hurt him, and oh god he did. He had so badly needed Jared to break and confess that yes he did kill Jensen.
But what he had gotten was terror, and fear, and a loss Jared had shown so clearly on his face, and the ramblings and fight Jared had put up. Those were not the actions of a guilty man, sane or otherwise. Chris had been around long enough to know the difference. For the first time since all this began, Chris Kane listened to the one thing that had never failed him before, but he had shut out till now, his gut instinct.
And this instinct was now screaming at him.
Jared Padalecki was innocent.
They had the wrong man.
Oh god! If Jared was innocent then.....Jesus Christ if Jared was innocent then he had just abused an innocent man, treated him with as much brutality as he could, he had mocked and taunted, Fuck he could have killed him! If Jared was innocent then he had reduced an innocent man to a quivering wreck. One who now was thrown in a dingy jail cell, sedated and filled with nightmares that Chris had caused to come to the surface.
He suddenly needed to get out of there, he had so much to think about, sort out in his head and he was feeling closed in all of a sudden. Grabbing his jacket and slamming his hat down on his head, he muttered something about needing air and walked out leaving two open mouthed men in his wake.
Once outside the station he wrapped the jacket more closely around himself and started to walk, having no idea whatsoever where he was headed, he was too lost in thought. Thoughts ran rampant through his head as he struggled to come to terms with his realisation and the guilt that followed.
Whatever people thought of Chris Kane, very few knew the real man underneath. Jensen had though, he guessed that was why he had fallen so much in love with him. Jensen had seen the real man behind the tough, no nonsense, sometimes violent exterior.
He had known Jensen for years, he wasn’t a native of Hazard just like Jensen, he had met him at the Police Academy all those years ago and had formed an instant bond. They were so alike yet so different it was funny sometimes. Where Jensen was gay and had never hidden the fact, Chris had known he was gay for years but told no one, not even Jensen.
They both had a temper that scared a normal person, Chris being quick to react with a temper as fiery as his personality, and Jensen’s, wow, Jensen’s he had always known to be the more dangerous one.
Jensen’s was slower to come to the fore having always been known for his cool head, but once Jensen lost it, he would always react with a cold calculated fury that left the poor bastard that had drawn him out in no doubt. Jensen thought before he acted, even in anger, he thought and then proceeded to take down his foe with a precision that was almost beautiful to see.
He had come to Hazard after Jensen had contacted him, letting him know he was staying on as his step father’s deputy after the death of his beloved Mother to cancer two years ago. He had told Chris that Jim was on the look out for another good officer and Chris had jumped at the chance for a change and had come straight down.
He had found the people of Hazard, truth be told to be the most backward, biased people he had ever met. How Jensen coped with being an out of the closet gay man he didn’t know, but he had the feeling that holding the position of the sheriff’s step son and now deputy had brought a lot to his favour. Chris certainly had never had any intentions of outing himself there of all places. But as he had watched the friendship grow between Jensen and the man he had come to know as the town freak and weirdo, he had become desperate. Jealousy had clawed at his gut then when six months ago, about four months before Sharon Padalecki passed away, it had become obvious to him that something more was happening.
Jensen thought he was keeping it hidden but any fool could see that Jensen was in love and that Jensen was the reason for Jared’s smile. He had tried to deal with it, telling himself that he wasn’t really seeing what was staring him in the face. He had always hoped that maybe some day Jensen would realise that it was Chris he loved, and he had blatantly refused to accept the fact that Jensen’s heart now belonged to a man who was known as nothing more than a joke in this town.
It had been jealousy that had forced his confession out of him the night he had confessed all to Jensen, and hurt and a dented pride that had made him try and force a kiss on Jensen. Jensen had reacted with his usual cold, calm, fury. He had told Chris straight up that it was their years of friendship that was preventing him from kicking his ass then and there.
But then Chris had made the mistake of calling Jared names in his fury, saying Jared was nothing more than a joke, a freak of nature that the town had been laughing at for years and Jensen’s reaction had been instant.
The cold fury had turned into an ice storm as his eyes had turned a jade green and he had pinned Chris to the wall with ease, telling him that nothing would prevent him from breaking Chris’s neck if he ever, ever spoke about Jared like that again. No ten year friendship, nothing. He had released Chris then and walked away.
That had been a month ago, and it hadn’t been mentioned since, and things had almost returned to normal. Jensen choosing to forgive and forget as long as Chris kept his distance and didn’t mention Jared again. Chris had genuinely thought he had been dealing with it, he was sure he had been, until Jensen had been murdered and he had let his emotions cloud his judgment and almost killed the man Jensen had loved.
Thoughts of his actions a few hours ago brought the feeling of guilt right back to the surface and his stomach churned with guilt. He couldn’t take back what he had done, but he could make damn sure that Jared was vindicated and the right killer put down. Looking up suddenly and blinking he realised he had walked out to the edge of town and down to the river that Jared had told him he and Jensen had parted at.
Sitting down on the cold ground on the bank, he pushed all feelings of guilt out of his head, knowing guilt wasn’t going to help Jared now. He needed a clear mind and a plan. Jim wasn’t an option, he was determined to see Jared go down for this and nothing but cold solid proof was going to stop him now. Welling was a fucking weasel, always had been, with the cold silent way he used to watch both him and Jensen, and he could never bring himself to trust the man.
Which left him with Jeff.
Jeff had been a close friend of Sharon Padalecki and, her doctor for years. He knew Jared, he knew the family, and he seemed pretty concerned about Jared in the last 24 hours so it was a good place to start. He would talk to Jeff. Maybe ask is there anything he could have missed when examining the body, anything that would point the finger at someone else, in any other direction. Maybe he would go and try and talk to Jared in the morning, he snorted to himself at that one. Like Jared was ever going to trust him now, but he had to try, for Jensen.
He had to help Jared for Jensen’s sake.
Decisions made and clear in his mind, Chris felt marginally better and clearer than he had since this whole thing began. He took a deep breath and looked out over the murky waters of the river and spoke softly.
“I’m sorry Jensen, I fucked up man, but I’m gonna fix it. I promise you. I’m gonna make things right again Jensen. Make you proud.”
Getting to his feet and rubbing himself down, Chris made a resolution; He had failed to keep his best friend alive, failed to save him. But he would now do the next best thing; he would save Jared Padalecki’s life.
He would do this for Jensen.
Wrapping the jacket tight around himself once more, he started back toward town, and a chat with Jeff Morgan.
Chapter 5