Days Behind - Chapter 12
Jensen’s phone rang and he answered it before he thought about it. “Hello?”
“Jensen! A good morning to you!” The voice on the other end chirped.
“Misha…”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we have a studio call.”
“When?”
“An hour ago.”
“What?!?” Jensen shot out of bed and started looking around for something to put on. “When did we get the schedule?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Shit. Let me get dressed and I will be right over.”
Jensen hung up before he could get an answer and looked at himself in the mirror. He took a moment to smile. Yesterday had been the best day of his life.
He’d gotten to hang out with Jared all day and as an added bonus, the girls. He had felt like he was part of a bigger something and every time that Jared’s hand found its way into Jensen’s, it just felt all that more right.
So many people had commented on how cute they were together and how beautiful the girls had been, assuming that Jensen was their father. He smiled as he brushed his teeth. That was a great feeling, and one that he hadn’t really thought about before in a serious way.
In his idea of the future he just kind of kept on like he had been, not thinking about a long term relationship or the possibility of children. It seemed to be something that was for everyone else, but not him. And now, today, it seemed very real and very possible. The whole idea of it brought a wide smile to his face that Jensen was sure would be there for quite a while.
Jensen slumped on the couch. The lights had been just a little too bright and the screaming just a little too shrill. His head felt as if it were trying to turn itself inside out. He thought maybe he could just take a little nap before getting out there to do the meet-and-greet that the production company had set up to try to boost the sales of the CD they were due to release in the next week, maybe quietly slip out of makeup and costume and put himself in a cab to the hotel the network had booked for them, but just as his eyes started to slip shut in that wonderful warm, fuzzy pre-sleep way, Steve burst through the door, his eyes frantically searching the room.
“What's going on?” Jensen struggled to push himself into an easier sitting position and looked around, lost.
Steve ignored him for a long pause. “I...I don't...dammit!” He threw a pillow he had been looking under at the wall and roughly pushed his hands to his hips. “Jensen. Right. So, here's the thing...”
Jensen rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on the here-and-now and not on the driving drum solo his head was performing. “What's the thing?”
Steve considered the floor, still standing with hands on hips, frowning and biting his lip. “The thing is...” He paused once again and sighed before trying to start again. “The thing is, man, I think I lost Misha.”
“You lost...” Jensen tried to process the words he was hearing. He thought for a moment that Steve had said 'Misha', but that couldn't be right because Misha wasn't the type of person you just lost - that was Christian's job. “Look, Steve, losing Chris for a few hours is no big deal anymore. He's just going to blow off a little steam and come back all collected and ask us to forgive him for being the lovable asshat he always is...”
Steve cut off the man still struggling to sit normally on the couch. “Misha.”
“What?” Realization hit Jensen like a brick wall and he was suddenly sitting stock-straight on the edge of the piece of furniture. “You lost who?”
Steve spoke slowly and calmly. “I. Lost. Misha.”
Jensen sucked in a gasp and began to choke on the sudden inhale of air. “Misha?” he coughed out as Steve just stood and waited for it to sink into his friend's thoughts. “How did you 'lose' Misha?”
“I don't know.” Steve threw both hands in the air and began to pace. “One minute he was there, doing that thing that he does where he half-gallops, half-flounces and we were talking and he said something weird - weirder than normal Misha - and I turned to ask him what he meant and he was....gone.”
Jensen scrubbed his hands on his face, hoping to drive the headache that was now reasserting itself away. “What about Chris? He see anything?”
Steve snorted. “Right. Like Chris cares where Misha went...” He paused in pacing for a moment to think about what he had just said. “You know, come to think of it, I can't find Chris either.”
“That's never a good sign.” Jensen gave up and fell back onto the couch, his eyes closed to everything around him.
Steve fell beside him. “You're telling me.”
The duo sat in comfortable silence for a while before Jensen felt Steve staring at him.
“What?” Jensen cracked one eye open. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Other than your makeup? Naw.” Steve looked at the floor. “But what's up with you lately? Trouble in paradise?”
Jensen closed his eyes again and shook his head. “No, what makes you say that?”
“I dunno, just you've been kinda off your game lately. It's almost like you're channeling Chris some days.”
Jensen barked out a chuckle. “No, it's just that it might be a little more intense to date someone with kids is all.”
“You're official?!?” Steve's voice was a little too loud and the hand he clapped on Jensen's leg startled him.
“Well, kinda. But not that much - there are still people who don't know about us at all.”
“But that's great man!” Steve thought for a moment. “When did this happen?”
“After the wedding.”
“Does this have anything to do with you catching the bouquet?”
“Shut up, will ya? That was Chris’s fault and you know it.”
Steve smiled, then got serious. “How's the girls' mom taking it?”
“She's not anywhere in the picture, so it doesn't really matter.”
“How did that work out?”
“Not sure. Not something Jared is willing to give up information on and it's not really something I want to pressure him about anyway. He says it's not an issue, I believe him.”
“Wow, never thought I would see the day...”
“What are you talking about?”
“Jensen Ackles, part-time co-parent.”
“I wouldn't go that far.”
“Okay then, what's that?” Steve pointed to the large mirror that the band shared.
“What's what?”
“That picture right there? That’s from the wedding yesterday. And I know for a fact that isn't you and two random fans.”
“Okay, you got me there.”
Steve smiled. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty happy,” Jensen admitted, standing and taking the picture down for a closer look. “But, you know who isn’t going to be happy? The studio when they find half of the Junction gone. Steve, man, we gotta go find them and hope they aren’t still in costume somewhere they shouldn’t be.”
“Good point. Damage team assemble.”
“Uh, Steve?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re it.”
“Fuck.”
Jensen carefully replaced the picture before following Steve out the door.
Jared and the girls were in the backyard enjoying the sun when he heard a familiar voice call over the fence. “J-Dawg!”
“Unca Chad!” Eleanor threw down the shovel she had been digging with and ran to greet him. Addison was close behind.
“Hey there, my favorite midgets!” He bent to scoop them up at the same time. “And their Sasquatchian father.”
“Hey, Chad. Come on back.”
“What’s going on at the Casa de Padalecki today?” he set the twins down and watched as they ran away.
“Nothing much. Just hanging out. Whatcha need?”
“I was bored. Figured you and I could do a little catching up away from the bar.”
“Sure.”
Chad pulled a chair up and sat beside Jared, who had gone back to watching the girls chase each other around the yard. “They’re getting big, aren’t they?”
Jared nodded. “Hard to believe it’s been four years, huh?”
“I don’t know how you do it, man. But you do. Amazes the shit outta me. There, but for the grace of God goes I…”
“Oh come on, man, you know you’d have stepped up to the plate.”
“Bullshit. Only a guy like you would make the right decision. You’re a good guy, Jared.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“I hear you saying something that you’re not saying.”
“Nah, that was it.”
“Okay, my turn to call bullshit. I’ve known you since forever, man. And there is a big something that you aren’t saying. Out with it.”
“Well, since you brought it up…”
“I knew it.”
“It’s just that I think you should know who Jensen is, that’s all.”
“No.”
“Come on, you owe it to the girls to know if you’re bringing a murderer into the house with them.”
“No, Chad.”
“What if his house has a big red dot on it?”
“Chad, I said no and I mean no. Drop it.”
“Jesus, Jare, learn to use the internet!”
“Chad, it’s not my fault I don’t Google all my dates!” A thought crossed Jared’s mind. “Shit, man! You haven’t been Googling all my dates, have you?!?!”
“Just looking out for your best interests, Jay.”
“Thanks, asshole. I mean, who wouldn’t want someone they thought was their best friend fucking up the thing they thought was finally possibly the start of a real relationship?”
“Come on, Jay -“
“Don’t you ‘come on, Jay’ me! This is stupid and I don’t want to hear anything about who you may or may not think Jensen is. I just don’t give a fuck.”
“Daddy said a bad word!”
“Daddy did say a bad word, Adds, but he meant it.” Jared stared hard at Chad, daring him to continue the conversation on the track it had been on. “Now, if Uncle Chad is done being a douchebag, then he can go inside and get him and Daddy a beer and stay a spell.”
“And if he isn’t done?”
“Then he can get the hell out of here.”
“Beer sounds better.”
“Thought it might.”
The assistant stage manager poked his head into the dressing room. “Two minutes to curtain, Mr. Ackles.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Jensen checked to make sure the animatronic tail was in working order after that group of toddlers had all but tackled him in the hallway the night before.
The phone rang, making Jensen curse under his breath. Two minutes to show and some asshole was calling. Despite that, he flipped his phone open. “Jen’s phone, talk to me.”
“Mr. Ackles?” The voice on the other end was muffled and slightly raspy, though obviously not the caller’s actual voice.
He had no time for this. “That’s what I said.”
“Jensen Ackles?”
Jensen pushed the button hidden inside his pocket again, causing the tail to fly up and hit him in the back of the head. “Yes.”
“Uh, you don’t know me, but…”
“Look, not to be rude, but can this wait? I got about two thousand fans in pull-ups out there and they are all currently screaming my name.”
“Mr…”
“Seriously. Unless this is the hospital calling to tell me one of my family members is in need of a blood transfusion or major operation, I really don’t have the time for-“ He finally got the tail to behave like it was supposed to and switched it off.
“We know you’re gay.”
Jensen dropped the phone, but quickly bent to pick it up after taking a giant breath to steady his nerves.
“What?” He wasn’t going to let it shake him, he wasn’t. They said that about all the guys in the band. It was a hazard of being a child’s entertainer.
The voice was steady as it repeated. “I said we know. We know about Jared. And the weekends.”
Silence. From both parties.
Jensen cleared his throat, afraid the next would come out as a squeak. “Look. Really, can I call you back?”
“I don’t think that’s in our best interest.”
“Then-“
“Mr. Ackles, we’ll call you back in three hours time. We can discuss how you want to handle this then.”
Before he could give any kind of an answer, there was a tone indicating the call had ended.
“SONUVABITCH!” Jensen threw the cell at the wall and tried to calm himself. He looked at the clock on the wall. One more minute before he had to be the happy monkey all those kids out there were expecting him to be.
A knock on the door disturbed any other freak out Jensen could be having. “Ackles, man, they want us on stage.”
He looked to the door, expecting it to open. “Yeah, in a minute, Chris, just making sure this damn tail is in working order.”
“Yeah, yeah, the tail. Always about the tail. Hurry it up, I don’t want a repeat of Denver.”
“Denver, yeah. Can’t have the mothers trying to get back here to ‘secure an autograph’ again.”
Christian opened the door to check on his friend. “You can’t tell me that shit ain’t scary. Always wanting a piece of the ‘Junction. And trying to see what mystery lays under this face paint.” They visibly shuddered at the same time. “Something wrong, man?”
“Nah, just nerves.”
Christian let lose a laugh. “You - nerves? That’s a good one, son.”
“What? I get nervous.”
“Last time you were nervous, I bet the girl was too.” He gave Jensen’s arm a knowing nudge.
Jensen’s answer was a weak smile before bringing his hand to back of his neck. “Yeah, well, that sounds about right.”
“Damn right. Now, turn that tail on and put on your ears. We got a CD to promote.”
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