The Kapok Shade Detective Agency for Exotic Solutions, Part Three
Title: The Kapok Shade Detective Agency for Exotic Solutions
Author: tcs1121
Artist: thruterryseyes
Pairing and Characters (in order of appearance): Jensen/Jared, Lauren Tom, Osric Chau, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, D.J. Qualls, Samantha Ferris, Mark Pellegrino, Misha Collins, Nathan Fillion, Alona Tal, Tahmoh Penikett. Mentions and cameos: Chad Michael Murray, Felicia Day, Jim Beaver, Steven Williams, Sterling K. Brown, and original family members
Rating: NC-17, bottom Jensen
Genre: J2 AU, h/c
Word Count: ~37,000
Warnings: Drug addiction and drug rehab, one brief suicidal ideation, one character is a cross-dresser (not one of the Js). This warning under the gray is also a spoiler Minor Character Deaths but not one of the J's. It might be more fun to read without knowing that. ;-)
Disclaimer: Untrue story. Character names are being used without permission. No money changes hands.
~~Special Thanks to:~~
My Tireless Beta: kee who always knows how to talk to me, what to say to help my stories along, and never lets me get away with anything. I love her more than just a little.
My First Reader: SPN_J2fan whose careful attention to detail and kind consideration of these characters makes her a joy to work with.
And Wendy: The ever patient moderator of the SPN-J2 Big Bang I don't know how she does it year after year.
A/N: Two year age difference between the boys. The real Jim Beaver is younger than this James Beaver.
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My Artist: thruterryseyes who went way, way above and beyond for this story.Please read my note of thanks under the fin.
Art Master Post to her many beautiful illustrations: ~~CLICK HERE~~
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Summary:
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Jensen was born an empath. With a touch, he can experience the physical and emotional sensations of another person.
Jared is a claire-clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient. He can hear, see, smell and even gather emotions from either side of the veil.
With Jensen's ability to feel the subject's emotions and pain, and Jared's extraordinary ability of communication, they work as paranormal detectives seeking the missing, the lost, the dead and the dying.
A new case puts Jensen's life in danger and Jared must use all his exotic abilities to find the perpetrator before time runs out.
~~*~~*~~
Back to Part Two
~~*~~*~~
~~*~~*~~
"That was an assault, Mrs. Ferris." Jared spoke as he paced. "Forcing your touch on an empath is against the law."
"Jare, you're wasting your breath. She knew exactly what she was doing since she's an empath, too."
"What?" Jared turned to Jensen. "What did you say?"
"Tell him, Mrs. Ferris." Jensen's voice shook ever so slightly. "Tell him what you did to me."
Jared went from blindsided to terrified. "She did something to you?"
Jensen stared at Samantha.
"What did you do to him?" Jared stood and loomed over her. "What. Did.You. Do?"
"I gave you both a reason to find my murderer." She was defiant. "I've been poisoned. I don't know how long I've got but I have an idea of the cause. My doctors know that it's some kind of complex, manufactured neuro toxin. It can be neutralized, but unless they have the exact formula, they may not be able to synthesize an antidote in time to save me."
"What does that have to do with Jensen?" He looked over at Jensen who was strangely silent.
She bit her lip.
"She gave it to me," Jensen said.
"She gave it to you? She gave what to you?" Jared was not following at all. "What are you talking about?"
Jensen sat up and looked from one to the other. "She's an empath. She melded with my energies and poisoned me empathically. What she feels, I feel. What happens to her essentially happens to me." Jensen looked meaningfully at Jared. "At least until she dies."
"This is unbelievable." Jared raised his arms to the sky. "Touch him again and take it back, Mrs. Ferris. Pull back whatever forces you put in him and take it back."
"I can't do that."
"Yes, you can," Jared said through gritted teeth.
"I don't think so, Jay." Jensen open and closed his fists, staring at his fingers. "Her vital forces are melded with mine, and hers are very weak right now. Until she's strong enough, she and I are in this together."
"You're strong enough. Just…just push it out." Jared's hands flailed in the air.
"It doesn't work like that."
"What does that mean 'It doesn't work like that,'? What does that mean?" Jared struggled to keep the hysteria from his voice.
Jensen stood, facing Jared. "It means, my love, that we have to find either the poison or the poisoner."
Jared rounded on Samantha. She sat primly, with her hands folded in her lap. Her chin was held high, but her eyes were moist.
"Why did you do this? You didn't have to go to this extreme. We would have helped you."
"I'm desperate. I couldn't take that chance." Samantha Ferris seemed to deflate before their eyes. "For what it's worth, I don't believe Mr. Ackles will die with me, if it comes to that."
"You don't think he'll die?" Jared spun around. "Jensen, what is she saying?"
Jensen sighed. "The empathic connection will probably dissolve at the moment of her death."
"Probably?"
Jensen shrugged.
"This is insane." Jared glared at Samantha. "You are insane."
"Not insane. I just can't die right now," Samantha said. "I told you, he won't die even if I do."
"You don't know that and you're willing to put Jensen's life at risk."
"I did my homework, Mr. Padalecki. You two have an excellent track record for successfully closing cases, and I need a quick solution. I don't know when I was poisoned and I don't know how much time I have left. The symptoms are getting worse and, while my doctors are doing the best they can to find a cure, they need the formula or a sample of the original poison to create an antidote. The person who caused my illness is the one who can cure it. You can arrest me, sue me, put my story on the front page, or put me in prison, when this is all over. I don't care as long as I'm alive. Find the person who did this, find the poison, and then take whatever you want from me."
"You must have known, with the size of that check, that we would have taken the case." Jared said, defeated.
"That first check was only a down payment for your services," Samantha said. "Even if I'm in jail after this is over, and I believe I'll be guilty enough to serve time, there's another check, exactly like it, at the end of all this. Whether you're successful or not."
"You didn't have to hurt him," Jared said.
"Maybe, maybe not." Samantha pressed her lips into a fine line. "He probably won't die even if I do, but if you find the cure in time, it's guaranteed that he won't. And the sooner you find it, the better. Believe me."
Jared stared into her sad, brown eyes. The air got so heavy, that it was a chore to breathe.
Jensen was the one to speak first. "All right, Mrs. Ferris. If we're going to beat this, we need to know what you know. When the police get here, I want you to start at the top and tell us everything. The sooner we get started the sooner we get that second paycheck."
He turned to Jared.
"After we're done in Trinidad and Tobago, we'll try out the five star hotels at Turks and Caicos."
~~*~~*~~
Fifteen minutes later, Jeff Morgan was sitting at Jared's desk across from Samantha Ferris. Jared and Jensen sat on the small settee along the back wall and Jared couldn't help curling his arms around him.
Jensen remained calm as the lieutenant questioned the woman, but Jared was just short of panic.
"When do you think you were poisoned, and are you certain that you have been poisoned and not developing some kind of medical condition?" Morgan asked.
"Yes," Samantha replied, tiredly. "I'm sure. I'll be happy to give you access to all my medical records to corroborate it. However, I'm not sure exactly when I was attacked. The symptoms surfaced gradually, starting about a month and a half ago. They began as a mild overall weakness, numbness in my fingers and toes, muscle cramping, things like that. When they started escalating, I sought medical advice. My regular doctor was stumped-didn't know what was wrong with me-but he knew to send me to a neurologist. Doctor Misha Collins detected and isolated my symptoms and, long story short, came to the conclusion that the only way all the things that were happening at once was due to artificial means."
"Are they still getting worse?" Jared blurted. "Are they painful?"
Jensen put his hand on Jared's shoulder to shush him. "Let's get to that later."
Jeff asked Samantha, "Why didn't you come to us? Why didn't you file a report with the police when you found out?"
"I'm an empath." She said it as though it answered the question.
"Jensen's an empath, and Jared's a claire. The police department works with Exotics all the time."
"As a woman in a powerful position, being an empath makes me a target of suspicion. I don't advertise my exotic status but I don't hide it, either. One time, one of my husband's associates found out and promptly accused me of cheating, bribery, taking unfair advantage, and of being a non-human-spawn-of-Satan." She sniffed, derisively. "And she was his longtime family friend." Samantha looked over at the two detectives cuddled on the settee. "Don't tell me you've never had anything like that happen to you."
Jensen looked at the floor while Jared remained silent.
Jeff turned to Jensen. "I'm assuming you're pressing assault charges?"
"Yes," Jared answered, quickly.
"Wait."
"What do you mean, wait? She attacked you." Jared swallowed. "She poisoned you."
"I know that. But we don't have all the facts."
Jensen stood and walked toward Samantha, but kept his distance. "Why are you so determined to live that you would risk harming me like this? I can already feel my legs getting heavy and the joints in my hands aching."
"My daughter," she whispered. Samantha cleared her throat and said louder this time, "My daughter, Alona-Allie-is pregnant. I'm going to be a grandmother-if I live long enough."
"We would have helped you," Jared repeated, more to himself.
Jeff said, "Even if Jensen won't file charges, I am going to have to arrest you for criminal assault and extreme exotic violation resulting in empathic injury. If it's established that Jensen has been empathically poisoned, you could be charged with attempted murder."
"Jeff…"
"He's right, Jensen," Jared's voice shook. "She attacked you, you were hurt."
"But we took her check, so she's our client." Jensen pointed to the locked desk drawer.
"Depending on what she wanted us to do."
"Gentlemen." Jeff boomed. "It's out of your hands. However, due to her ill health, and decreased flight risk, I'll ask the DA to request a high bail rather than incarceration," he looked Samantha in the eye, "a really, really high bail. They'll probably end up putting you under house arrest."
Jeff stood and addressed her directly, "Samantha Ferris you are under arrest for aggravated assault. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have stated them?"
They all looked at the woman sitting in the chair. Her shoulders were slumped and sweat coated her face. She placed her shaking right hand on the handle of her cane and raised her left, "Yes, I understand. Help me up, Lieutenant. I'm ready to go with you."
After getting to her feet, Jeff had to steady her as she held her wrists out.
"Don't take her out in cuffs, Jeff," Jensen said before Jared could interrupt. "It's bad for business."
"Okay," Jeff grumbled. "I'll be back to take a formal statement later."
He slowly guided Samantha out by holding her elbow and snugging his arm around her waist.
Jensen sat heavily. Jared circled first before gently sitting at his right.
"How are you feeling?" Jared kept his voice as cool as he could. "What are you feeling?"
"Weird. I feel weird." Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's go home."
~~*~~*~~
Jensen wasn't talking much and Jared couldn't keep his hands off of him. In the car, on the couch, up the stairs, or at their kitchen table, he had to be in contact with some part of Jensen - or at least within reaching distance. Empaths needed to be touched by loving, trusted people, but in this case, it was Jared's need, rather than Jensen's, that was stronger.
He knew that Jensen needed time to process, and it was normal for him to shut down for a while. So Jared took it easy, not asking questions, nor forcing fluids or food into him, until finally, Jensen said, "It's like everything is slow."
Jared spoke calmly. "Slow like, time is slowing down?"
"No, like under water slow. My muscles are slow to respond. My fingers take a long time to coordinate movements, I feel my breathing. Do I look slow?" Jensen's eyes were bright but dry.
"No, you look scared." Jared tried a grin on him.
Jensen cocked a half smile back. "I am, but not petrified. Mostly, I'm wondering how this is gonna go down. Will I get all her symptoms at once or will they start gradually. Maybe the empathic connection will dull the symptoms and I'll continue to function with only a mild inconvenience."
Jared heard the desperation in Jensen's voice.
"We'll beat this, Jen. We'll find the bastard who did this to Samantha and sue her for half of what she's worth." Jared rubbed Jensen's back. "Then we'll buy the Turks and Caicos Islands."
Jensen laughed, unconsciously rubbing his stomach.
Jared kissed the top of his head and stood. "I'm gonna get my feelers out into the ether tonight. Maybe communicating with her husband will give us a start, a direction to whoever might hate Samantha Ferris enough to kill her."
"Not tonight, though, okay?" Jensen asked, softly.
"Why not tonight?"
Jensen looked up, and this time Jared saw that Jensen's eyes were wet.
"Jense, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, right now. Outside of feeling slightly disoriented and a having a little weakness here and there, I'm feeling mostly like myself."
"Then what?" Jared sat and took both of Jensen's hands in his.
"Make love to me tonight. While I'm still…while I can still enjoy it."
"We're going to beat this, babe," Jared repeated.
"I know that, I do. But, tonight, let's be the two of us in the dark, touching one another in ways that normal people can't."
"How can I say no to that?" He leaned in and kissed Jensen gently. "Why would I want to?"
Jared stood and tugged Jensen up by his hands. Jensen teetered before finding his balance and then stood toe-to-toe with him. Jared cupped the back of Jensen's head and kissed him soundly before turning him around and leading him up the stairs to their bedroom.
Night was falling later and later, but the early spring evening was hazy and cool. Goose flesh appeared on Jensen's arms as Jared removed his gloves, sweater and long-sleeved tee. He carefully laid Jensen down, undoing all the buckles, buttons and zippers, getting rid of the unwanted clothing.
He did away with his own clothes, watching Jensen's eyes become hooded and dark as each layer came off. Jared casually stroked his own cock, plumping himself up to half hard while staring at Jensen. Jensen reached a hand out and fisted Jared's erection along with him.
The flutter of Jensen's empathic energy trembled all around Jared's dick like thunder before a storm. Jensen moved his fist with Jared's, strong and sure. Jared felt Jensen's energy pulsating up to the head of his cock and down into his balls with each stroke.
"God, Jensen," Jared moaned. "When you do that, I'm on fire."
Jensen moaned with him, "No, I can feel it, remember? It's electric, like lightning." Jensen gently squeezed Jared's cock with one hand, and the other dipped down and cupped his heavy balls.
"Keep that up and it's gonna be over before it starts." The magnetic heat from Jensen's hands diminished quickly leaving silver streaks of icy cool in its place.
"Mmm, I never know what I like more-the fire or the ice."
"I like it hot," Jensen murmured.
Jared pressed his heated, naked skin down onto Jensen's, touching everywhere with every part of him. He hugged his arms around Jensen, touching him with his body, mind, and heart.
"See me," Jensen pleaded.
Jared obeyed. He rolled his eyes back, opened his psyche and aimed it at Jensen. Visions flooded through them both. Images so sharp and clear like each event could have happened yesterday. Their early days at the Starr Summer Academy, building campfires, single-handedly roasting dozens of marshmallows to build giant chocolate-gooey graham cracker S'mores-Jensen studying for his college finals, drinking cold coffee, looking up to smile at Jared-the two of them arguing with each other over the best way to apply for a loan to open their business-sitting in the Realtor's office, holding hands under the table, writing up an offer to buy this, their first home.
"Feel me," Jensen insisted.
Jared placed his hands on Jensen's face, mindful of the small scratches there. Jensen clasped hard onto Jared's shoulders, his fingernails pressing little half-moon shapes into his skin. Jared gasped. This time, Jensen's essence flooded into him, engulfing Jared with its intensity. Jensen was present in Jared from the upper crust of his mind to the depths of his bones. This entanglement of souls, Jared thought, was more intimate than sex, more profound than love.
Jensen was afraid. Jared felt and shared Jensen's fear, pressing kisses into Jensen's skin. Under that was a layer of anger, then sorrow and ultimately, the bewilderment of why? Why was this story being played out on him?
Jared nipped small kisses over Jensen's heart because underneath all the fear and rage, burned a passion, hotter, stronger and steadier than those. In Jensen's core, burned a blue-hot flame of trust and a white-hot fire of the pure love he had for Jared. Jared gasped, catching his breath at the intensity. As familiar as it was, it affected him like this every single time.
"Touch me, Jared."
Jared opened his palm and placed it on Jensen's heart. The proof of life was beating strong and sturdy under his hand. Lungs like bellows, filling and emptying, blood running fast and hot under his sweaty skin, reddening his cheeks, his ears, his lips and the tip of his cock. Jared leaned in and kissed the beautiful pink lips, sucking on Jensen's tongue, teeth clashing, hearts beating in rhythm, each inhale and exhale mirroring each other breath for breath. Jensen lifted his legs one at a time, and draped them over Jared's shoulders.
Jared leaned down, to uncap the tube of lube he had under the bed and thoroughly coated his fingers. Jensen's hands slid down to cup Jared's ass his energy sparking from his fingertips everywhere they touched. One of Jared's lube slicked fingers breached Jensen's hole, and then a second finger pushed in beside. Jensen's body quivered and bucked up under Jared's hand. Jared added a third finger and pressed in, up to the second knuckle and scissored his fingers open. Jensen hissed, pushing himself down harder onto Jared's fingers. Jared moved with Jensen, pushing up, crooking his fingers, twisting his wrist. Jensen moaned and cried out, "Please, Jay. Please."
"I've got you, Jen. Let me."
Jared removed his fingers, wiped them on the sheet and slicked up his bare cock. Jensen looked up at him with wrecked eyes and hiked his hips up. No further invitation was necessary. Jared held tight to the base of his dick and pushed and pushed until there was no more room between them.
An explosion of light and color burst behind his closed eyes. Jensen's emotions surged through Jared so strongly that tears flowed unchecked. He gritted his teeth and began to move inside Jensen. Jensen growled deep in his chest. It was a triumphant sound, like a caged animal finally being freed.
The fight or flight sensation that usually overcame Jensen during sex, coursed through Jared along with that shimmering echo of "catch me, Jared…don't let me go" that turned up the heat, and Jared was helpless to do anything but pound into Jensen over and over again. Jensen reached for the headboard with one hand and groaned with need. He grasped his own stiff erection and pumped it in time with Jared's hips.
Jared joined one of his lubed hands with Jensen's and upped the pace. The feelings heightened and crested as Jensen's emotions washed through him. They were soul to soul now. Their touches blazed of need, want, love, trust, now and forever.
"Heal me," Jensen whispered, fervently.
"I will. I swear." Jared reared up, buried himself as far into Jensen as he could, and swiveled his hips, hard. He felt Jensen clench all around him and hazily noted that Jensen's precome was smearing his forearm and chest.
Jensen's aura flooded the room with a bright lemon yellow light tinged in dusky red as Jensen came with a shout. The red arose from Jensen's negative energy and anger, and was almost overshadowed by the brightness of the yellow. This yellow was from fear of loss. His usual shades of bright, light blue and indigo- powerful communicator and wise seeker-were overpowered by his fear and impending ill-health.
With one last push, Jared threw his head back and cried out. He came thick and hard inside Jensen. He pistoned his hips in and out as his orgasm waned, finally stopping when everything became too much.
Jared shifted and kissed Jensen tenderly as they embraced in the dark room, still connected. The musky scent of sex floated in the air and the sound of their breaths echoed into the night.
"Royal blue and violet," Jensen panted.
Jared carefully pulled out and dropped down next to Jensen.
"So, I'm a daydreaming clairvoyant. What else is new?" Jared turned on his side and nuzzled Jensen's neck.
"You're a generous, caring spirit and a visionary." Jensen kissed the top of Jared's head. "You're my hero."
They lay in each other's arms while their breathing calmed down.
"Normal people can't do what we just did, can they?" Jensen said.
"Not like we can, that's for sure," Jared kissed him, his lips lingering longer than usual. "We're special, you and I."
"Especially me," Jensen grinned.
"Especially you. So, so special." He smiled and got out of bed. "But it's not always all about you. I have some pretty impressive talents of my own."
"That you do," Jensen agreed.
Jared headed for the bathroom and returned several minutes later. He handed Jensen a warm, damp cloth and snuggled under the covers while Jensen used it.
Jensen put his head on Jared's chest and his breathing slowed. "I've got to tell you something before all this gets going."
Jared wasn't going to pretend that he didn't know what the "all this" was.
"I'm listening." Jared stroked along the scratch marks on Jensen's cheek.
"Under no circumstances are you to look into the veil and see any outcomes to this. You do not have my permission to look into my future."
"Jense, you know I wouldn't."
"If things get desperate, you might. You're forever the optimist, and you'd go off looking for good news. I don't want either of us to get caught up in that. I'm telling you now that if I ever suggest anything like that in the future -never give in to me. No matter how sick I get."
"Jensen."
"I need you to promise me."
"It's not going to come down to that," Jared said. "We're going to kick this in the ass. It's never going to get that far." Jared rose up on one elbow, disengaging himself from Jensen's touch. "We got this."
"I know what you're doing, but I'm not falling for the subject change. Please promise me you'll leave the future alone. Let what's going to happen, happen without either one of us knowing."
"But what if the future tells us how to beat this? Come on, Jensen, it's my nature, and I've got to use all the tools at my disposal. Besides…" Suddenly, a feeling of deep dread wrapped around him, making it difficult to talk. He shook it off before Jensen touched him. "…if I promise, and it gets bad, I might not be able to keep it."
"That's not how we do this." Jensen flexed and opened his fists one at a time. "I don't want to start now. Not now. Not with me."
"Jen, I'm going to do everything in my power…"
"Not that."
Jared shook his head.
"Jay, I'm hoping you'll honor my wishes. I'd like you to promise me this, but I won't argue with you, and I won't mention it again. But, please, before you do use everything in your power, promise me you'll at least think about how much I don't want you to do it."
Jared looked into Jensen's sad, determined eyes.
"Okay, I promise," Jared choked out. "I promise not to look into our future. Yours or mine."
"Thank you," Jensen said so genuinely, that Jared knew he'd never break this promise.
"I love you," Jared said, simply.
"You do," Jensen's voice was sleepy-playful. "Because I was there just now, and I know it for a fact."
"I know you know. I still like to say it." He kissed Jensen's cheek. "Go to sleep."
"Okay." Jensen stretched both arms out and then yawned impressively. "I'm tired." He yawned again and burrowed down. "Wake me when it's all over."
Jared absently stroked Jensen's hair until Jensen's body went lax and his breathing deep and even. He pressed his lips to Jensen's temple as the overwhelming sadness returned.
"We'll beat this. I swear."
~~*~~*~~
The master bedroom took up almost the entire second floor of the house. According to the previous owners, there used to be four small bedrooms on that floor, and now there was one large bedroom and one huge master suite.
Jared had gotten up at five the next morning. He sat at their kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the information Chau had given Jensen prior to meeting Samantha Ferris.
He figured six-thirty was long enough to wait before calling his office manager.
"Hey, it's Jared."
"Hey, baby. How's Jen? How're you? You all coming in today?"
"Jensen's sleeping and I'm scared shitless. Listen, I don't know if we'll be in or not, but I need you to open the office. Absolutely no appointments unless they pertain to Samantha Ferris or Jensen. Everyone else, take a number. I want you to research empathic diseases, illnesses, injuries, everything. I need to know how the symptoms of the actual infected person mirror on the empath: Severity, duration, treatment, the works. Especially treating empathic symptoms. We can't -Jensen can't use drugs so if the management of symptoms include narcotics, it's a no-go, so find us something we can use. Oh, and get the number of Ferris's neurologist."
"I'm on it, boss man. Give your guy a smooch for me. I'll open up at eight."
"Thanks, hon."
"Why did you get her up so early?" Jensen knuckled his eyes and sniffed the air.
"I'm paying her, she does what I tell her." Jared stood, holding himself back from clutching Jensen to his chest and not letting go. "How are you doing?"
"So far, so good, I guess. Is that Kona or Columbian?" Jensen headed for their expensive coffee grinder and brewer.
"Sumatra," Jared answered, highlighting a sentence. "I gave Chau a lot of things to look into, so it's going to be a research-and-phone-call kind of day today."
He turned a page to read about how Mark Pellegrino started the Pharm Call Company when an explosion of glass shattered the quiet and Jensen yelped.
Jared jumped up. "Jesus, Jensen. What happened?"
Shards of porcelain that used to be their coffee carafe were scattered across the kitchen floor. Hot Sumatra coffee flowed along the tiled floor and over Jensen's bare feet.
"Don't move, don't move. You'll cut your toes." Jared held a Stop hand out to Jensen. "Are you okay?"
Jensen held tight to the counter with one hand and looked at the other hand with a bewildered expression. "I couldn't hold it. I picked it up, but it fell right out of my hand." He went from bewildered to angry. "It was a coffee pot, not a fucking fifty pound weight. And it wasn't even full." He swayed and held onto the counter with both hands. Shifting his weight, he stepped on a sharp porcelain sliver and drew his foot back. "Fuck."
"Here, here, come here. Sit down." Jared safely ushered him to his spot at the table and checked Jensen's toes. Seeing it was only a scratch, he proceeded to clean up the coffee mess and the broken pot.
As Jared swept the last pieces into the trash he asked, "Do you know what happened?"
Jared looked up from the wastebasket and saw Jensen curled over himself cradling his arms.
"What, Jen?"
"Muscle cramps. My hands and fingers are all cramping. Shit."
Jared ran and got a heating pad and plugged it in, gently rubbing Jensen's forearms and hands while it heated up. There were tense muscles and tight spasms under the skin of both Jensen's arms. He pressed the warm pad to his fingers and hands until the heat soaked in. Jared massaged out the knots as he gently moved Jensen's fingers, thumbs, wrists, and elbows. Finally, Jensen breathed easy and he could move them freely on his own.
"What the fuck was that?" Jensen asked, plaintively.
"I think the symptoms are starting," Jared whispered.
"I think you're right." Jensen wiggled his fingers and toes. "Seems to be okay, now."
"It's not okay," Jared said, evenly. "But it will be."
Jensen gave Jared a soft smile. "I know it will."
"Jensen, I swear. We will catch the son of a bitch that did this, and we'll make them pay. Shit, Ferris alone will owe us so much that to hell with just the Turks and Caicos, we'll throw Nassau and the Bahamas into the shopping cart, too."
Jensen laughed weakly and stood, but Jared could see how hard he was trying not to freak out. Jensen opened his arms.
Jared took him in and held tight. Jensen pressed his head against Jared's chest and calmed his breathing. Jared scratched his scalp and shushed him.
"Jay, there's one thing I really need from you right now. All kidding aside."
"Anything, sweetheart, anything. You know that."
Jensen clamped onto him for dear life, as though he would drift apart without Jared holding him together. Jensen's head nuzzled under Jared's chin, and Jared thought he heard a soft sniff.
"Tell me what I can do," Jared whispered.
"Coffee." Jensen raised his eyes. "Make another pot, but use the Kona beans this time. The Sumatra was too strong."
It took Jared a split second to translate the sounds into words. He chuffed a laugh and kissed him gently.
"With a double shot of espresso and a half shot of hazelnut with 1% soy milk. Coming up." Jared didn't make a move toward the coffee maker. Instead, he stayed glued to Jensen, feeling the slight fasciculations of his arm muscles itching to cramp up again.
Jensen shifted in Jared's arms. "I need to sit down."
They both sat at the kitchen table. Jensen looked pensive, and then nodded sharply. "Okay, make coffee and eggs, help me into the shower, and then we go into the office."
"I was thinking you should stay home today," Jared argued, weakly.
"There'll be plenty of time to stay home. As long as I'm able, I want to do my part with this case." He side-eyed Jared and smiled. "Sometimes it is all about me."
Jared looked at Jensen and, at that moment, he didn't look sick, he didn't look hurt, he looked determined. And Jared felt a surge of pride to go along with the protection.
Jared nodded back and said, "Okay. Coffee, eggs, and I'll toast up a couple of English Muffins."
"Good call," Jensen said. "Get out the orange marmalade."
Jared got up and opened the refrigerator. "Oh, and Jensen, when this is all over?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm gonna marry you."
Jensen laughed for real. "Oh yeah? Well, you gotta ask me first and see what I say."
"Deal," Jared said.
~~*~~*~~
~~*~~*~~
On to Part Four
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