Time of Your Life, Ch 2, NC-17, RPS, AU, Jensen/Jared

[sandymg]

Beep … Beep … Beep …

Jensen’s eyes shot open. What the? He blinked furiously, fumbled to unlatch his seatbelt, and pushed the airbag out of his way. He forced the car door open using his shoulder for leverage and stumbled out onto the street.

His eyes widened at the smoking remnant of his car. Shaking off the intermittent buzzing in his ears he reached one hand out to steady himself.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” A man’s voice sounded by his ear, then shouted back at someone. “Call 911. Now!”

A strong grip held him steady by his bicep. “My god … I can’t believe you just walked out of that.”

Jensen’s eyes returned to the vehicle. The front was accordion shaped. He couldn’t see inside past the shattered windows. He must have shut the door behind him but didn’t remember doing that.

“My … car,” he stuttered.

“Yeah. Pretty much totaled.” The stranger shook his head. “Still can’t believe … Hey, you’re bleeding … “

Jensen felt a trickle near his nose and swiped away at the red drops. Nosebleed. “ ’S okay. Not … I’m okay.”

“Right. Just take it easy. Here … “ Arms started to urge him down. “You should sit.”

Jensen let the man lower him to the grass as he looked around fuzzily. He was on someone’s lawn. In the distance sirens sounded.

“Good. They’re almost here. Just take it easy. You’ll be okay.” The man’s voice softened. “Do you want us to call anyone? Your wife, girlfriend. Parents?”

Jensen dug his hands in the slightly damp soil. “No. I don’t … no, don’t call anyone.”

A woman appeared with a terry washcloth. “Here,” she said handing it to him. “Don’t tilt your head up. Could make you choke. Just hold it steady underneath. What’s your name, son?”

“Jensen. Thanks,” he croaked, holding the cloth under his nose. After a second he looked back up at them. The man’s shape clarified. Older, balding, maybe in his sixties. “What happened?”

The man knelt down in front of him. “I’m so sorry … it’s our fault.”

“What?”

The woman knelt, too, and touched his arm. “You missed Rusty. I … oh god, I’m so thankful.”

“Rus--ty?”

The man’s face reddened. “Our cat. He ran out. Heard a noise. Probably a raccoon. My wife only had the door open for a minute. She wanted me to check the light sensor over the garage. That’s when we saw you swerve the first time. Then Rusty was there and you turned again to miss hitting him and hit the tree instead. I thought … well, thank goodness you’re okay.”

The ambulance pulled up then. The man leapt up. “He’s over here.”

The EMTs quickly looked Jensen over and recommended he go to the hospital for a thorough exam. He watched their eyes return to the car that was now part of the tree in the world’s most bizarre natural sculpture.

Jensen shook them all off. “I’m fine. Stopped bleeding.” It was true. The nose bleed seemed over. “I’ll go to my doctor tomorrow. But I’m fine.”

“Sir, please, you need imaging for your head. You might have sustained a concussion.”

After some cajoling Jensen agreed to let Rusty’s owners, the Andersons, take him to the hospital. He refused to ride in the ambulance. Wasn’t necessary, he kept saying. He urged the paramedics to go help someone else in trouble.

The Emergency Room doctor was exceedingly young. He looked all of twelve even though Jensen knew he had to be older. When did doctors get so young? Feeling ancient he answered all the doctor’s questions. When it came to whether he was hearing any sounds Jensen looked into the kid’s eyes.

“I heard … like a buzzing or maybe a beep … in the car, I think.”

The doctor nodded. “Have you heard it again, ringing, any other sounds?”

Jensen shook his head no and immediately regretted the movement when a throb shot from his temple to the base of his skull.

“There’s a bump and contusion so you likely have a concussion. But the scans don’t show any swelling in the brain, so if you insist on going home I guess you can. ”

“Shouldn’t sleep?” Jensen asked wearily, thinking of how exceedingly tired he was.

“No. Should be okay. Just come back if you feel nausea or if your headache gets any worse. Alright?” The physician smiled at him causing dimples to appear in his baby-round cheeks. “You’re very lucky.”

Jensen blinked away a flash of familiarity at the doctor-kid’s smile and stopped himself from automatically nodding. Lucky? That would have been hiding in bed all day. As it was, he felt seriously unlucky but didn’t want to argue.

The couple whose cat Jensen hadn’t made into road kill drove him home.

In the apartment he managed to take off his suit jacket and shoes before collapsing on his bed with a loud groan. He heard a whispered blip as sleep took him and for a fleeting moment he worried that he wouldn’t wake up.

~~~The sun shining through shades he’d never had a chance to close answered Jensen’s question about waking up. Ugh. Everything hurt. His body felt like … well, like it had gone one-on-one with an oak tree. The tree had definitely won.

Two thoughts. He was alive. And he would appreciate that fact a lot more once he had coffee.

He stumbled out of bed and headed into the kitchen.

A few minutes later the brewing noise and the fantastic aroma jump-started his body to the being-glad-to-be-alive stage. In fact, the feeling overwhelmed him for a moment and he plopped onto his kitchen stool as his legs suddenly felt weak. A shudder ran through him.

Christ. Today could have been his funeral.

He drank the coffee black as was his usual for his very first cup. The caffeine went directly into his veins and he felt oddly charged.

Showering eased some of the residual soreness, and dressing quickly he decided he might as well put this odd energy to use and do some more work on the Johnston projections. That’s when he realized he had no way to get into the office. Or anywhere for that matter.

Nursing a second cup of coffee, he pulled out his cell to start making phone calls.

The insurance company agreed he was entitled to a loaner while they examined the wreck. Not that there was much left to check out. Jensen figured it was a lost cause. Buying a new car was going to be a real hassle.

It would take until after lunch for the rental car to be dropped off. Jensen wondered if Katie would be in the office. She couldn’t possibly make the Monday deadline without some weekend work. Unless she’d taken it home. That was more likely as she’d once confessed she worked most efficiently wearing her fuzzy slippers. An image that had made Jensen uncharacteristically giggly when he pried out of her that her slippers were giant ladybugs complete with spots and antenna.

He rang her number.

“I’m goin’ in. Wanna meet me?”

“How was the benefit?”

“Deadly boring. In other words, the same as usual. Come to think of it, how’d you get out of going?” Jensen had been surprised to see Katie hadn’t attended. She usually liked those things.

“My sister’s visiting.”

Ahh. Katie’s sister, Genevieve, lived in Los Angeles. But she got back home to Texas as often as she could. He’d been told she was pursuing an acting career or something. Jensen had met her a few times. The very first time she’d flirted shamelessly with him until Katie whispered something to her and she’d pursed her lips saying dang, I forgot.

Well, if Gen were in town then there was no way Katie would be coming into the office.

“Jensen, you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” He thought he should mention his totaled car. But then said nothing. Wasn’t in the mood for the shock and concern that would follow. “I’m heading into the office. I guess you’ll be busy. See you Monday.”

“I was going to get some work done from home when Gennie’s meeting some of her old friends later. I’ll make the deadline. Don’t worry. Although it’s silly to make ourselves crazy when Johnston didn’t even … Jensen, it’s gorgeous out. Don’t spend all day at the office, okay? Get some sun and breath some air and, I don’t know … play or something.”

Jensen stared as if she was in front of him. “Play? Since when do I do that?”

Her voice sounded sheepish. “I don’t know. You don’t. I know. Just think you should, maybe.”

Confused and wondering if Katie and her sister’d had a Mimosa party for breakfast, he hung up and headed out.

~~~

At two o’clock Jensen was the only one in the office. No surprise. He and Mike were the only ones to regularly work weekends. Mike more often since Jim had mentioned the possible partnership offer.

Empty coffee cups provided evidence that Jim had been in earlier, however. The cleaning service would have disposed of any from Friday but they didn’t work weekends. He tossed the empties in the trash himself on the way to the little pantry to brew up a fresh pot of coffee.

What he really wanted was something sweet from Starbucks but it was too much of an effort to get it. Besides, they’d probably screw up the order anyway.

He sniffed the milk from their mini-fridge. Borderline but probably not deadly.

I only like milk with cookies.

Yeah, me, too. Watcha like?

Oreos are my favorite.

Really? Mine, too. Do you dunk?

Nah, split em open and lick the cream.

Eww. But then you’re stuck with just the cookie.

Cookie’s good! Nuthin’ wrong with that.

Jensen stared at the white milk slowly changing the coffee into a soft caramel swirl. Oreo cookies. Wow, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had one. Where had that thought come from? Why think about it now? He still thought dunking was the way to go. Jay never did know how to eat a cookie.

“Did, too.”

Jensen jumped, the coffee splashing out onto his hand. “OW … Fuck. What the hell?”

He spun around in the empty room. The white tile floor was spotted with light brown from his spill. The counter as well. The refrigerator beeped and hummed crazy loud for its small size. But then again it was old and due for replacement. Knowing Jim and Jeff it probably dated back to their frat days.

His temples still throbbed. That concussion was likely not yet totally gone. That explained. Everything.

He let cold tap water run over his hand, soothing the hot coffee sting. A few minutes later he returned to his office to put in a few hours of work and get the jump on those manufacturing cost projections. He had a deal to close.

~~~

The sun was setting when Jensen lifted his eyes from his computer screen again. He turned around to the window behind him. The dark glass shed his reflection back to him. His hair was sticking up in sloppy spikes … did he really leave the house looking this way? It was enough to revoke his gay man’s membership card. He chuckled darkly to himself.

A shadow crossed his vision, low and fast. Jensen spun his chair back around. The office was of course empty.

He could hear Katie telling him to call it a day. Go home. If she knew he’d come in post-concussion she’d have been furious at him. He tried to remember what Doogie Howser had said about working on a computer. The young physician might have said to avoid it for a few days. Something about maybe taking Monday off. But the doctor didn’t know him. That just wasn’t happening.

Besides, he was fine. Not a scratch on him.

“Hey, ‘member when we fell outta the tree house? I was a bloody mess and you were fine. Nothin’ happened to you.”

Jensen blinked. Stared. Blinked again. It still stood there. “J-Jay?”

“Hey, Jenny.”

“You … you can’t … “ Jensen’s breathing sped up, heart racing like a dog’s in a thunderstorm. Because this was just not possible. Oh god. He was going crazy. Certifiable. Rubber rooms and straightjackets and enough medication to put an elephant to sleep. Did they still do lobotomies? God, he hoped not. Left a really ugly scar.

The boy smiled, dimples appearing like tiny craters on his cheeks. Hair falling forward nearly covering those hazel, slanted eyes. This wasn’t just Jay. It was Jay when Jensen had first met him.

Twenty-four years ago.

The truck was the largest Jensen had ever seen on their quiet block. He kept his nose to the cool window. The side of the truck had letters. He was just starting to read so he worked to sound out the words … A T L A S. He frowned, not knowing what that meant. The second word was longer. M O V E R S. He studied the picture of a huge man holding a tremendous ball on his back. Looked like Superman minus the cape. Cape was the best part. Jensen had dressed up as Superman last Halloween and he still wore that cape almost every day. Made him cool.

Jensen’s mother saw what he was watching. “Oh look, honey, new neighbors across the street. Wonder if they have any little ones.”

That’s when a large blue station wagon pulled up in front of the house and a family scrambled out. Jensen watched, eyes opening big as three kids scrambled out of the back seat. Two boys and a girl. The shorter of the two boys looked around. His eyes locked with Jensen’s and stopped. A moment later, the boy gave a hesitant little wave.

Jensen looked back up at his mother who smiled at him encouragingly. Jensen waved back.

The young boy walked around Jensen’s desk curiously only to be distracted by the view out the window. They weren’t very high up and there wasn’t much to see, but that didn’t seem to bother the boy. Jensen forced himself to calm down. He was being ridiculous. This was just someone’s son who just happened to resemble his childhood friend. He’d wandered into the building and found the J&J offices open and that explained everything.

“Where are your parents?” Jensen asked, forcing his voice not to squeak.

Smiling hazel eyes met his. “Don’t know.”

“Are you lost?”

“Jenny … you look different. All grown up an’ all. Wow.”

Jensen’s heart leapt again. He hadn’t been called ‘Jenny’ since … Jay called him that. He was the only non-family member that had been allowed. And even that had ended when Jensen turned nine and forbid it when other kids started teasing him with the girly name.

The kid must have spotted Jensen’s nameplate and he was being a wiseass. That explained it.

“Do you know your phone number? We can call your folks and have them come get you.”

The boy recited a number and Jensen thudded back into his desk chair. That was Jay’s number. Well, his family’s phone number. Jensen still knew it by heart. He should. He’d called it more than any other number for most of his childhood. When he wasn’t just ringing the doorbell, that is.

“Mom! I’m going to Jay’s.”

“Jay?”

“Jared.”

“Okay. Wait one minute so I can watch you cross the street.” It was a quiet block but Jensen’s mom always watched him get across safely. Made him feel like a baby. He was six years old - he knew to look both ways and all that.

Summer was almost over, but Jensen and his instant best friend had spent nearly all of it together. Jensen bounced between feet until his mother appeared behind him and patted his back. “Okay, go on now. Sheri knows you’re coming?” Sheri was Jared’s mother. Jensen liked her. She was a good cook. Better than his own mom but he knew better than to say that aloud.

“Yep,” he answered. There were many times that Jay came to his house when Jensen hadn’t told his mom in advance. Never mattered.

Jay met him at the front door and they shot around instantly toward his back yard. Distantly he heard the door to his own house shut.

“Watcha wanna do?”

Jensen eyed his friend. “Ninja?”

Jay turned to him with a wicked gleam, arms moving out in attack mode. “Ninja spy. We could infiltrate the enemy. Steal their top secret documents and hand them over to the Justice League.”

Jensen’s face broke into a huge smile. “I call superpowers.”

“Me, too.”

“Invisibility.”

Jared’s eyes darted as he thought it through. “Mindreading.”

“Mindreading? That’s cheating. You’ll know where it is without even looking that way. Besides, how’d you know I’m not lying to you?”

“Because you’ll promise to tell me the truth. Pinky promise.”

Jensen touched his pinky against the smaller boy’s. “Pinky promise.”

This was ridiculous. Unless … yes, of course. This boy must be related to Jared. Maybe he was his nephew or … his son. It’s not like being gay meant Jared couldn’t have a child.

“Are you related to Jared Padalecki?”

The boy’s eyebrows drew closer and he peered at Jensen from behind fringy bangs. “I am Jared Padalecki. You know that, Jenny.”

“You mean you share the same name. Is that your dad’s name, too?”

“My daddy’s name is Gerald.”

“But that’s not possible. Jared would be thirty years old. Same as me.”

The boy’s eyes got impossibly wide. “Wow … are you really that old?! That’s like … wow. You are really old.”

Yeah. Wiseass didn’t begin to describe this child. “C’mon kid. Who are you really? This isn’t funny anymore. I bet your folks are worried about you.”

A soft voice interrupted them. “Jensen, who are you talking to?”

Katie stood in his doorway, eyes looking around. Jensen looked from her back to Jared. But Katie seemed to be looking right through the boy.

He fought the shiver running up his spine. “Katie, this little boy is Jay … um, Jared. He must have wandered in here.”

She looked at him, mouth opening in a funny way. Like she forgot what muscles she needed to close it again.

“Jensen. What little boy? We’re alone.”

Jensen gaped back at her. Turned again to Jay. “He’s right there. Jay, say something.”

Jared looked at Katie. “Hi,” he offered.

Katie continued to look at Jensen ignoring Jared completely. “Jensen. Are you okay? You’re scaring me.”

Jared walked closer to Katie. “Hi lady. I’m right here.” He went to touch her but his hand disappeared when it reached her.

Jensen moved quickly and grabbed Jay’s arm. It was solid. Warm. They stared at each other before returning their gaze to Katie.

“Neat!” Jared exclaimed. “I’m flippin’ invisible, dude. This is great.”

Jensen stared incredulously. Katie looked like she was about to burst into tears. Damage control. Jensen needed to get her out of here. Needed to stop hyperventilating. Needed to figure out just how insane he was before he was carted off.

“Katie. I’m sorry. The … boy was here before. He must have run off again. Probably spotted his parents looking for him … um, he saw them out the window. Bet he’s back with them right now.”

“Jensen,” Katie said slowly. As if Jensen spoke a foreign language and couldn’t understand normally paced speech. “I came by to be sure you didn’t stay here all night. Genevieve is waiting downstairs. Would you like to go grab some dinner with us?”

Jensen weighed his options. He decided a little truth was his best bet. “You know, I … would … really. But I can’t. Shouldn’t. I was in a car accident yesterday night.”

“What?! Jensen, are you … ?” Katie started to reach for him but Jensen stepped back without thinking.

“Yes. I’m fine. Car was totaled but I got nothing worse than a headache and nosebleed.” And apparitions apparently. But best to leave that tidbit out right now.

Jensen shifted his eyes left. Jay was trying to spin Jensen’s office chair but his little hand kept swiping ineffectually right through it. Frustrated, the boy jumped to sit on it. Jensen waited to see if he’d fall right through back to the floor, but he didn’t. Their eyes met as Jared sat in the seat and tried again to get it to move with no effect.

“Huh,” Jay said. “Well, we’re getting the rules, I guess. Always are rules.”

“You can’t change things up now. The Blue Ninja can turn invisible only when the moon is out.”

“Except when he’s got the dagger of Plantos and uses it against the mist creature.”

“What?! That’s cheating! Plantos’ dagger only allows the mist creature to have form long enough to be killed. It doesn’t give anyone invisibility!”

Jensen’s lips turned up in a smirk as he drew the small plastic dagger forward into the air. “Yeah, well, my momma says rules are to be broken.”

“Katie. Thanks, really. Go have a nice dinner. I’m going to head home and … rest.”

She quirked one brow up. “You’re really going home, right? This isn’t some crazy attempt to get me to leave so you can work all night?”

For a split second he thought of all that he hadn’t finished yet. But then his eyes caught on Jared scrambling off his chair.

“I’m hungry, dude. Why don’t we go eat with the pretty lady?”

Jensen fought the panic. He spoke directly to Katie and prayed Jay would understand. “I have food at home.” Katie stared at him. “I mean. If I was hungry and wanted to eat. There’s food at home. Where I’m going. Home. Um, to eat.”

Any other time Jensen would have been indignant at the questioning-his-sanity-look Katie gave his perfectly lucid statement. Except. He was sure he’d see the same expression if he looked in a mirror right now. “Okay. Good. Well, I’ll see you on Monday. And Jensen, stay home tomorrow. It’ll keep. Really.”

She shook her blonde head and walked out after giving him one more last worrying look.

“So what do you have?”

He turned back around. “What?”

Jay smiled at him, dimples forming. “To eat. I’m starving.”

Jared was a small boy. Slight and not too tall. Jared’s father was a giant. He was the tallest man Jensen’d ever seen. It was hard to imagine Jay like that. But Jay’s grandfather was a giant, too, so Jensen knew it was likely his best friend would grow up tall.

Immediate lack of stature notwithstanding, Jay could eat three times his size. The boy was always hungry. It made their mothers smile indulgently and pile more food on his plate.

“Ugh … I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Jensen pushed the drippy plate of melting ice cream away. A late summer thunderstorm had cut the power and so Jared was making a valiant effort to not waste any food by eating up all the ice cream in both their family freezers.

“Just gonna melt anyway. Might as well eat it.”

Jensen had really had his fill. He pushed his plate toward his friend. “Go for it.”

Jay’s smile brightened. Who needed electricity next to this?

Jensen shook his head and gathered some documents off his desk, slipping them silently into his messenger bag.

“Jenny?” Jensen turned and waited. “You’re gonna let me come home with you, right?”

What could Jensen say? That Jared wasn’t real. That he was a concussion-induced hallucination. Bright eyes stared at him looking a little … scared.

“Sure, Jay. C’mon. What are you hungry for?”

Jensen didn’t know if the boy could eat given how things passed through him. A small hand reached up and touched his. He hesitated a moment and then engulfed it in his own. He wasn’t sure if being solid to the figment of his imagination was a good thing or not.

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