Family don't end in blood - chapter 7
Summary: Things finally seem to look up for Y/N and she's looking forward to the little break from filming, she's closing in on the first semester and life is just good, but an unexpected appearance threatens to break down everything she's worked on the past months...
Pairing: Jensen Ackles x foster!daughter reader
Word count: very close to 5,000
Warnings: mentions of abuse, protective!Jensen, angst, so much angst, nightmares, Danneel is honestly the only sane person here
Transcription - Y/M/L - your mother language, Y/H/C - your home country
A/N: This is where things start to build up...
You were finally settling into the routine, the filming, school work, life in general. You finally found balance in your everyday life, and you can definitely thank Jensen for helping you with everything that came up along the way.
You were excitedly counting down the days until you get to go back to Austin and be there for the twins' birthday. You haven't been that excited about something in a long time.
But as of now, you, Jensen, Jared, and Misha are walking to get some lunch. Of course, Jared was being Jared and pulled yet another prank on Misha. And of course, taking in the fact how serious y'all are, Richard got sick and tired of y'alls bullshit and sent you to have some lunch and cool off before continuing with filming, for sake of his as much as yours.
"You are a monster!" Misha exclaimed, Jared laughing,
"I can't believe that what, 12 years later, you still fall for his stupid pranks," Jensen said, all three of you giggling as Misha groaned,
"I just might ask craft and supplies to buy me some popcorn for next time, cause you guys are my favorite movie to watch," you laughed, Jensen's phone ringing,
"Oh, it's Dee. Get me some steak and salad, kiddo. I'll catch up with you guys."
"I'm so gonna put something spicy in his meal," Jared giggled evily,
"Jared Tristan Padalecki woke up and chose violence," you said, Misha rolling his eyes,
"That's his default setting, kid," he stated, Jared nudging his arm playfully,
"Oh I love you too," Jared stated, taking his phone out, "I gotta check in with Gen. I'll take my meal when I make it. You keep a seat for me, kid," he said, ruffling your hair and drifting away as well,
"I'll just drop by and give Sarah my trench coat so that she can wash it up since this is not presentable anymore," Misha said, "Keep me a seat too! Preferably as far from Jared as possible," he called out from the distance, making you giggle as you showed him a thumbs-up, leaving to get some food.
While you were walking to the catering, you pulled your phone out to read over all the texts your friend, well, more sister, sent you. The time zones are kind of messing with your friendship but oh well, it's not like she's a night owl anyways, so you get to text very often. You caught up with all the texts from her and swapped to discord, where you had a group of close friends you'd study with whenever you needed company.
As you were walking you bumped into something, or someone. You immediately turned around after bumping into whatever it was, wanting to apologize for being a clumsy idiot if it was a person you bumped into.
But when you lifted your eyes up from the phone, you froze.
"Watch your steps, whore," a voice called you out, making you gulp. You swore you felt all will to live drained from your body and soul right there and now, as you stared at the person you'd never expect to see here. You were speechless, hands shaking as they put the phone back into your pocket. The person smiled at you evily, making your blood run cold, "Awww, what's the matter? Are you scared of your own mom?" you clenched your jaw, all the anger accumulating in you slowly but surely.
If she left from set without a bloody nose she should consider herself lucky. Everything was coming down but you still didn't know what to do. Do you attack, talk back, run away?
"Since when do you speak English? You don't even speak Y/M/L properly."
"I want to show you that everything is possible. Even me learning this filthy language," she began, "To prove you that you could have done exactly the same. You could have studied and become a scientist in Russia and-"
"Did you seriously travel for more than 30 hours just to tell me all of that shit over again?" you asked, huffing a laugh, "I can't believe this. You're still living in the past. I'm done," you pointed out, "I'm done being a puppet you control. I'm done being a punching bag you take all of your anger out on. I'm done being your daughter. I'm done being related to you. For all I know, I shouldn't be talking to a stranger."
"Drop the bullshit, bitch," she spat out,
"No, I'm not gonna drop it. I've had it up to here with you," you said, gesturing, "I'm done being manipulated and controlled, I'm done being beaten and hurt and called out. I don't deserve what you've done to me. You brought me into this world only to blame me for everything that has ever happened and to make me into this robot you control. I'm not supposed to be what you want me to be. I'm supposed to build my own future and make my own choices, whether right or wrong."
"I see you're still blind," she responded, "Me controlling you? How can you stay blind after all these years? I'm giving you a future!"
"A future?" you huffed, "This is my future. For the next few months, this is my future. My future is to finish high school, to make my own choices and be my own person. My future is to heal from everything you've fed me with. But then, you don't know of the term mental health, so you wouldn't know what I'm talking about."
"Stop being a bitch or I make you shut that filthy mouth of yours," she said, taking a step towards you, making you take a step back as you flinched,
"Yeah, that's how you deal with everything. Beat Y/N up. That's the only card you know how to play."
"You little blind bitch. I'm trying to secure your future, to make you successful!"
"And I can't do that by myself, in a branch I choose? I can't be a successful actress, or a video game designer, or a mathematician or a musician? It has to be medicine, biology, whatever the fuck the thing is on your mind? You are not doing anything but wanting to make me into this super famous person so you can show off to others how smart your daughter is. That same daughter you beat behind closed doors. Have you ever bragged about that? How gentle of a mother you are?"
"KIDDO!" Dean Winchester's voice in full swing echoed in the air and you felt a stone rolling off your heart as you saw him run towards you. He immediately grabbed you for your arm and pulled you aside. Though it was rough, it wasn't meant for hurting you, but for quickly moving you back behind him, where you were safe and out of reach for your mother,
"Oh great. The old fuck."
"Who the hell are you?" Jensen asked,
"Oh, you don't know!" your mother exclaimed, taking a step back. You grabbed at Jensen's flannel and pulled him three steps back with you. Jensen looked you in the eye and you must have had such a scared expression that he immediately dropped the attention on your mother and immediately turned to you,
"Kiddo, who is that?"
"My-my mother," you breathed, feeling your chest tighten up, "She's-she's my mother."
It took Jensen one swift motion to pick you up and settle you on his hip, same way Dean did to your character numerous of times before,
"You're safe. As long as my arms are around you, you're safe. I promise," he whispered.
You couldn't do much but lean your head against his shoulder as you tried to take deep breaths and not go into a panic attack,
"I want you to leave," Jensen spoke up, turning to face your mother, "You have no business being here. Go your own way."
"Oh, but she is my business," your mother spoke up. You shook your head and Jensen squeezed you tighter,
"Oh, look how gentle and soft you are with her. That's how you raise a whiny bastard. My methods haven't worked quite well, unfortunately, as she's still a whiny little bitch."
"Yeah, when you beat your daughter up with whatever comes to hand she craves for a soft touch, something that won't hurt her," he responded,
"What I was doing was raising a strong independent woman. Now, only thing I have left is to kick that bitchy attitude out of her and make her into a scientist so she can finally contribute to this family and be useful for once."
"Oh no, you're not coming near her," Jensen shook his head, "You aren't taking her anywhere."
"Oh sweetie, that's not your decision to make. Besides, I have no problem showing you a few moves I've used on her. I'm sure she'll obey after she revises them with me."
"No," you spoke up, Jensen still holding you tightly, "You're not going to hurt him."
"You be a grown-up and talk to your mother!" she exclaimed. You looked at Jensen, nodding. He gulped, letting you down but tightly holding you, your back pressing against his chest, "Now, about the parenting preferences. Don't you have three kids of your own? You should start using some belt on them if you want them to grow up strong and independent."
"Oh you don't tell me how to raise my children," Jensen growled, "I'm never going to hurt my kids. Whatever they do, I'd never hurt them."
"Oh, you're making a big mistake."
"Yeah, whatever makes you sleep better at night," he responded, "Children cannot in any way be responsible for whatever is happening in your life. Yes, they might break a glass, shatter a window, spill milk, crack their head open, but they are never doing things on purpose and when mistakes happen, you talk to them. You don't 'cure it' with a belt."
"Please, as far as I can tell, Y/N's grateful for my parenting preferences. Right?" you gulped,
"What's going on here?" Misha's voice rang, your mom groaning,
"You fuckers don't know what manners are, do you?" she asked, turning around to face Misha, "Don't interrupt a lady when she talks," Misha looked at her and Jensen was fast to drop on his knees and turn you to face him. You heard Misha talk back but all you were focused on was Jensen,
"Kiddo, hey, you're safe," he told you and you nod, "She's not gonna come near you. Did she hit you?" you shook your head, "You sure?" you nod, "Okay, that's good. How did she find you?"
"I-I don't know. I bumped into her when-when I was walking to-to get food," you stammered,
"Okay, we'll take care of it. Do you trust me?" you nod, "Good. Now, I'm here, and so is Mish, Jared will stumble up here as well. You're safe. We won't let her get you. Okay?" you nod again and he stood up, both returning to the pose you had before Misha showed up.
You could now tell Misha was in a heated argument with your mother.
"STOP!" Jensen exclaimed, Misha moving to stand right next to you. It seemed like he realized who she was and he took a protective pose in front of you as well.
"You know what, I should have hit you harder," your mother spoke, Misha gulping as he looked down to you for a second before looking back up,
"Yeah, mother of the year right here people!" he shot back,
"She's a sixteen year old child. She's got all the rights to be loved and to want a hug and to feel safe. Every single person, no matter their age, should be granted as much."
"She can't even do the right thing to save her life! That's where your gentle parenting bullshit leads. Now, I'm sure she's pretty useless here. Might as well hand it back to me."
"She's not an it," Jensen growled,
"Yeah!" Jared's voice rang and you turned around just in time for him to voluntarily pick you up and settle you on his hip, "She's our kid! So you might as well drop whatever plans you have with her because you'll have to walk over our dead bodies to get her."
"Wow," your mother huffed, "So despearate in need of a dad, you found three! But you never once cared about me, did you? I had to be alone for my entire life because of you! You drove your father away and I never got to be loved!"
"I was never responsible for anything that happened between you two," you yelled out, "Why didn't you abort me if he already didn't want me and you knew he was going to kick you out?"
"Well, I figured to make up for it by making you into a successful scientist and then we can go to him and-"
"So that is your brilliant plan? Rub it in? Do you understand that he has a wife and a daughter he loves. He doesn't care about you or me. And I'm sorry you went through that, but you had options and you chose to give birth to me. I had nothing to do with you and him. I was born and instead of being loved, I was all these years used as a puppet in your master plan of rubbing it in to him."
"What is it that you want?" Misha asked, obviously missing some context,
"Well, that idiot there is coming with me or she's going to suffer."
"I ain't letting her go," Jared spoke up, "So you might as well cross that off your to-do list and reschedule it for never."
"You've got a chance to fix all this," your mother warned you, "I won't beat you hard too."
"No," you spoke, "I'm happy where I'm standing right now and I'm not coming with you."
"Well, you had your choice. I can't wait to see you suffer," she responded, "The exact same way you made me suffer."
"She made you suffer? Because she wants to live her own life, make her own decisions? Or is it because she wants to be loved and cared for?"
"Don't you want what's best for your child?" she countered,
"We all do," Jared said, "But your definition of best seems to drift off from ours."
"We want our children to have a good life. But we don't dictate them," Jensen began, "We don't plan it all out for them. We let them be kids, let them play, learn, enjoy life, fuck up and slam against the wall and help them get back up. They are never going to have a plan they so blindly have to follow. What you wanted to do to Y/N, it's not fair. It's inhumane."
"Why won't you shut that ugly mouth of yours or I make you," she threatened, huffing, "No wonder you fit so well. Shit goes with more shit."
"You keep them out of your dirty mouth," you growled, "You wanna trash talk about me? Do it. Make the whole universe hear how bad of a daughter I am. But you don't dare talk about them like that. You don't know them."
"Oh, and you do? They'll just use you to get popular and then throw you out. That's when it'll hit you and you'll beg to come back," her mother began, "But I won't take you in then. You have one chance, and it's now."
"No."
Your mother gasped, fully not expecting the answer even though she's been given the same answer multiple times,
"W-What?"
"I said no," you repeated, "I told you I'm done. I'm not coming with you. This is where I stand, and I like it here. I'm done with you and your plans for me, for revenge on my father. It's over," you said, "We were getting lunch, guys," you spoke, the three nodding and walking away, brushing past your mother, but not without resistance. She jumped at you, presumably, but Jensen was in the way and had no problem grabbing her and pulling her away while Jared moved quickly, still holding you in his arms and Misha bolted, probably for security.
"You are not," he began, locking arms around her, her long nails scratching his skin, "Going to," he picked her up, "Come near my kid," he took a step back, "Ever again." he growled in her ear, dragging the two of them away, "You wanna make her suffer?" Jensen asked, letting her mother go and she immediately maintained a safe distance from him, "Huh? You wanna make a little kid suffer?" he repeated, your mother bolting to attack him again, long nails managing to get to his face before he grabbed her wrists, "Bad idea. Cause if you touch her, you have a lot of people breathing on your neck. And I am the first one," he said, going into her face. Only thing your mother could do is hysterically scream into Jensen's face until the security showed up and they dragged her away.
As soon as she's being dragged away, Jensen is running to you and Jared and you caught Misha with the corner of your eye. You couldn't be fooled, as all three had terrified expressions on their face,
"She's okay," Jared spoke up as soon as Jensen was within arms length. He took you from Jared's arms and hugged you tightly. You couldn't do much but return the hug and let both of you calm down from your high.
"How did she get through the security?" Misha spoke up,
"She-She probably paid her way in," you responded, going to hug Misha and then Jared, "I'm sorry for causing a scene."
"There's nothing to apologize for, munckhin," Jared shook his head as he squeezed you tightly, giving you one of his famous moose hugs,
"I scared you. All three of you," you responded, looking back at Jensen, "And she hurt you too."
"What's important is that she didn't hurt you," Jensen responded, smiling weakly for you, "Don't apologize. You didn't pick your mother."
"But still-"
"Don't," Misha shook his head, "We're all okay. And Jensen's right. What matters is that you're not hurt."
"What in the ever-loving fuck happened?!" Richard exclaimed as he walked up to you,
"My mother somehow managed to break through the security."
"She's fucking mental!" he exclaimed, "Are you guys okay?"
"More or less," Jensen responded,
"Oh man, get someone to clean that up," Rich frowned, "Listen, if she broke through the security that means we have a rat somewhere around."
"I'll fire the current security and ask Cliff to make me a list of most trusted ones," Jensen said, "I'll set it all up."
"But until that's set up, we're taking a break," Richard said, "I gotta look around people here too. I don't know who she might be working with. I'll need time."
"Guys, really, you don't have to-"
"All of our safety is compromised with that mental bitch loose. Yes, she'll be held for 72 hours or something, and yes we'll press charges, but whatever is the outcome, I have to go through all these people. I have to work with people I know are safe. I don't want insane parents breaking into the set and murders happening, and neither do Jensen and Danneel."
"But we'll fall back with filming," you pointed out,
"We'll be fine. Filming is postponed until February 1st. We have a few episode waiting for production. I order y'all to go home and take a break. You heard me kiddie?" you nod, looking down, not expecting Richard to come up and hug you, "Hey, I'm not mad at you. I can't be mad at you. She's the mental idiot, not you. I'm just glad you're safe."
"Thanks," you whispered, returning the hug,
"Don't thank me. Now go home, all of you."
The first thing Jensen did as he opened the door to his trailer was lead you to the couch and grab a bottle of water sitting on the counter, handing it to you. You took it quietly, your head bowing down.
"Kiddo," he whispered, crouching in front of you, "Kiddo, look at me," he tried but you shook your head.
How can I look at you? I put you in danger. I shouldn't be here.
"Kiddo, this isn't on you."
You gulped.
Of course he knew what's going on in your head. Of course he knew you'd be blaming yourself. And you still couldn't wrap your head around the fact that nobody is blaming you.
But then, they might be as well lying to you.
"We're going back to Austin," he stated and you shook your head,
"I'm not going."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not," you began, finally looking up, "She's going to be out in 72 hours. She's coming after me. Save yourself and go. I'll find a place here and keep quiet until we return to film."
"No," Jensen shook his head, "You're coming with me. You're way safer in Austin than here. Either we both go or we both stay."
"Jensen-"
"No," he said sternly, "I'm not leaving you here."
"Jensen, you heard her. Are you seriously willing to sacrifice the safety of your family just for one person?"
"Yes," he responded, taking you back with it, "Cliff is in Austin. I'll ask him to watch over our place."
"Jensen you don't know her and the lengths she's ready to go. Just let her have her way with me and she'll be gone when she's done."
"Not knowing how far she can go is the exact thing I'm scared of," he pointed out, "You're coming. We're gonna keep you safe, and we'll have fun and think of how to get rid of her, besides suing her."
"I don't want to sue her," you spoke up, Jensen now confused, "I just want her to go back to Y/H/C as soon as possible. Besides, she's most likely not going to show up at the court anyways."
"Okay, but Chaos Machine is suing her, so she'll have some problems up her ass," Jensen said, "Now, we'll go home and pack. We need time to figure things out and if nothing, I'll feel better if all my kids are within arms reach."
"And that's exactly what I meant when I said I don't want to come. I want you to be safe. I want them to be safe. Jensen, I can't afford to be close to you now."
"She can be the queen of England and I still wouldn't give a flying fuck. She's not going to hurt me, nor you nor anyone."
"Y-You can't promise me that, Jense."
"You're scared of her," Jensen sighed, "Which is completely okay. But you're forgetting something. That is, you have me. You have Jared, Misha, you have Dee and little ones back in Austin. We're not going to let her win, kiddo."
"She will win. I know she will. Jense, she has ways and mind twisted like no one else. How far she's ready to go to make someone suffer..."
"Well she isn't counting on you having us and she sure as hell doesn't know I'd go even further to protect you, so she can stick it up where the Sun shines," Jensen said, kissing your temple, "Let's just pack up and go home."
12 hours later
When you step out of the car you are greeted by Danneel's arms wrapping around you to give you a hug. Your brain is such a wreck that you don't even flinch. You just return the hug numbly, everything in your head just too much to handle. Jensen gets a hug as well and you follow the two to the living room where they sit you down.
"Honey, you're safe here. She's not going to come near you again," Danneel tried to assure you,
"I shouldn't be here," you whispered, "I should go to a motel or something. I'm putting you in danger. How can you not see?" you asked, looking up with tears in your eyes, "I don't want to put you in danger. I don't want to put the kids in danger. Why aren't you getting rid of me?"
"Because you're family," Danneel responded, "No matter what she does, we'll go through it together."
"I shouldn't have left you alone," Jensen murmured, totally out of the current conversation,
"No," you spoke up, standing up to go after him after he began walking up and down the room, grabbing his hand and stopping him to look at you, "You don't do that. You don't blame yourself. It's not your fault she's insane."
"It's neither of yours fault," Danneel corrected you as she approached you, "So stop blaming yourselves. She's her own person, she has her own brain with questionable thoughts in it and you cannot in any way make her do anything because she's calling the shots. Now you," she turned to Jensen, grabbing his other hand, "I know you'd probably wipe Y/N from her mother's memories if you'd had the chance to, but you can't. So don't blame yourself for something that you didn't see coming. You can't see into the future. And you," she turned to you, "You're just a child and you're not at fault for having a crazy mother. So don't eat yourself over what happened and don't think about what's to come either. Whatever happens has its own reasons why and we'll go through it together, like a family. Now, I think a nice, warm bath will help you relax. What do you think?" you nod,
"Thanks," you whispered, looking at Jensen who wore the famous 'Dean feels guilty for something he had no control over' face. You shook his hand and he looked down at you, "It's okay."
When you're done with your bath, Danneel was waiting for you with a cup of hot cocoa,
"Here's something to warm up a little before going to sleep."
"I can't sleep."
"I know. I think Jensen's right there with you," she responded, opening the door to their bedroom where Jensen was seated against the headboard, playing with the blanket over him, "How about you two have some alone time and in the morning you'll fill me up?" she said and Jensen nod, taking your hand in his and sitting you down next to him,
"Thanks honey," he whispered, Danneel smiling as she leaned down to kiss his lips,
"Don't thank me," she smiled, planting a kiss to your temple as well before walking away and closing the door behind her.
The two of you sat in pure silence. You didn't know what to say, what could you possibly say to make this whole situation better. You knew Jensen wasn't going to get rid of you, and as much as you appreciated it, part of you really wanted to go and keep him and his family safe.
And Jensen obviously had problems forming sentences since all he did was hug you tightly. And you'd lie if you said you didn't need it. Everything he did the past 24 hours, he and Jared and Misha. You didn't think a loving touch could make all the worst things hurt a little less.
You didn't even realize you were crying until Jensen shushed you gently, assuring you that it's okay to cry. You were so unaware of your own body, surroundings, everything. This all put you back to square one, at the bottom of the hill again. You didn't know how were you going to climb up to the top this time. You didn't think you had energy in you.
"That's what that feeling was," he murmured, "Like you felt her coming, but you didn't know it was her."
"I wish I knew," you responded, sniffling, "I-I wish I knew so I could have avoided her. I'm scared."
"I know, and that's completely okay. We'll keep you safe. She won't get you."
The very next thing you know is you're jumping awake from a nightmare, panting and sweating.
"Kiddo, you're safe," Jensen spoke up, making you whip your head around and gasp at the scars on his face, "You're safe."
"She-she hurt you," you breathed, "No."
"Kiddo, you gotta breathe," Jensen tried, getting ahold of your shoulders, "Look me in the eye and follow my breathing. In. Out."
After a few minutes you came down from your high, still staring at Jensen,
"What was it about?"
"She... She hurt you," you breathed, tears welling up in your eyes, "She-she hit you. Same way she hit me. And-and I was there but I-I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything."
"Shit kiddo," Jensen breathed, "I'm safe. I'm okay. She didn't hurt me. It was just a bad dream. I promise I'm fine. Okay?" you nod, looking down, "Here, drink some water," he handed you the bottle and you gladly took it, downing the content in record time, "You need to take it easy these next few days, okay? No school or anything. You have to put yourself first."
"How do I do that?" you breathed,
"We'll do it together. We still have a few days before the twins birthday. We'll help Dee set it all up and we'll do a lot of movie nights and play and talk. Okay?" you nod, "I think the kids are up. Wanna go say hi to your favorite Ackles?" you smiled,
"Sure."
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Compare & Contrast: House of Gold (2014)
My writing from 2014 is so different from my writing in 2023! Here's a chapter of "House of Gold" from "before" and "after."
2014
“Don’t kiss me, you’ll get sick.”
“I’ll risk getting sick.”
“No.”
“Jen, it’s okay.”
“Fine. A small one.”
Jared leaves Smithville on a rainy Tuesday morning. Jensen left the night before by himself in a car that came from the airport to pick him up. He’s made the set call for today despite being sick and running a hundred and one degree fever. They’ve made set accommodations for the past two days just for him and he can’t miss another call. He plans to use his illness as an advantage on set but Jared doesn’t quite understand how. Either way, they separate for twelve hours. Jared pulled out his carryon bag an hour after Jensen left and started packing.
“Long as you don’t mind havin’ a guest around,” he could hear John saying to his momma, polite and appreciative. “Promise you won’t notice I’m here, ma’am.”
“I wouldn’t mind if I did notice you were here,” his momma replied. “And don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel old. I’m not that old, right Jay? Just turned thirty last year.”
“For the sixth time,” Jared snapped out with a small laugh.
She came over and he expected a swat to the head and a lecture on how when she was a girl she had half the men in this town kneeling at her front door, begging to let them take her out here or treat her to this. She likes to go on sometimes about how it’s her good looks Jensen best be damn grateful for.
Instead, she hugged him.
She felt so small.
Of course, she read his mind, and it earned him a small cuff to the ear. “Don’t,” she muttered, looking at him directly. “Don’t you dare do that, Jared Tristan Padalecki. Don’t you treat me like I’m fine china. I was never that kind of girl. Never been that kind of woman.” And that’s true. He knew it. She broke each arm at least once climbing trees as a girl. Broke her right leg when she was sixteen and riding an admirer’s motorcycle alone and took a sharp turn too fast. That motorcycle is still in their garage.
“John’s got a gun,” she whispered to him, a glint of excitement in her eye. “Gonna take him shooting.”
The plan is for John to stay in Smithville for a week while Jared joins Jensen on set in Vancouver. It was all Jensen and Mr. Mayhue’s idea. Right before Jensen left he and Jared met with Mr. Mayhue at the store. His employer refused to accept any money for the repairs or business it cost him. The building, they were assured, was insured and it gave Mr. Mayhue’s brother-in-law work for once. But he tipped his ten gallon hat and leaned back in his chair and admitted that he was concerned for Jared’s safety. In his experience, people bent on doing petty things like this didn’t stop until they got the reaction they wanted. It was Mr. Mayhue’s fear that vandalism would lead to something else—and his position in the community did not warrant any more interest from the police. They took pictures, poked around, and did nothing else. A week off is not a problem in comparison. They can manage.
Jared turns this all around in his head on the plane ride from Austin to Vancouver.
A coach ticket would have been fine, he thinks, looking around and sighing. He’s looked up ticket prices for first class flights on this route. His shoulders bristle and he tries to shake off his worry. Stop it. Jensen does these things because he cares. It’s not to make Jared feel less than capable or childish. Sometimes you need to accept help, Jared tells himself. It just seems excessive when there are people waiting on him left and right. He isn’t used to this.
When he lands at four in the afternoon he can’t get his ears to pop. Pulling at his left ear lobe, he sends a text to his momma informing him that he made it just fine. When that’s done he digs around his pockets for gum or something to chew on. This never happened on the flights from Austin to Miami or Dallas to Austin. Then again, those were all at maximum three hour flights and this was six. His ass has fallen asleep and his joints hurt from sitting down so long. Even with more foot room in first class his knees still hurt from crouching. Walking out of the terminal with his carryon, still trying to get his ears to pop, he wonders how the hell he has arrived. Customs was a breeze since he only has one piece of luggage on him and Jensen called ahead. He comes in through this airport so often that the airport staff knows him well. One of the security guards handed back Jared’s passport with a sincere, “Welcome to Canada, sir.”
By the looks of the airport, it doesn’t immediately feel like he’s in another country. Another state, yes. There are no ten gallon hats or belt buckles on display; he doesn’t hear y’all or right quick or any kind of drawl. He follows signs for the above ground exit and prays not to get lost in the airport. Please let him have some kind of sense to find the arrivals pick up, where Jensen said he’d have a car sent.
Ten minutes later and Jared is completely turned around and lost. The layout to this airport isn’t anything like the few he’s been in. Just as he’s beginning to panic, his phone goes off. He expects it to be his momma.
“You’re adorable when you have no clue what you’re doin’.” A Texan drawl. Jared feels the knot in his chest loosen. He can’t punch out a witty response and Jensen gets it. “Look to your left, sweetheart.”
This is bad.
Every time Jared panics he’s going to expect Jensen there to help him out of whatever mess he’s in.
He doesn’t care if it’s cliché or silly or totally predictable. His carryon wheels squeaking, he runs the short distance between him and the man in sunglasses and a baseball hat.
The first thing that’s said doesn’t come from Jared.
“God, I missed you.”
He is greatly loved.
---
2023
Jensen leaves at night, by himself, in a car that came to pick him up and take him to the airport.
He just barely makes the set call for today, despite being sick and running a one-hundred and one degree fever. He plans to use his illness as a way to get even more into character. Or something like that. Before he left, Jared insisted on a kiss.
“Don’t kiss me, you’ll get sick.”
“I’ll risk getting sick, Jen.”
“No, I won't put you in harm's way, Jay. Absolutely not.”
“Good lord, it’s okay.”
“Fine. A small one.”
Jared is set to leave Smithville the next day--a rainy Tuesday morning.
John and Sherri talk in the kitchen as Jared gets ready.
"Just as long as you don't mind having a guest around," John says to Sherri, his tone polite and appreciative. "I promise you won't notice I'm here, ma'am."
“I wouldn’t mind if I did notice you were here,” Sherri replies. “And don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel old. I’m not that old, right Jay? Just turned thirty last year.”
“For the sixth time,” Jared quips.
She walks over and he expects a swat to the head and a lecture on how when she was a girl she had half the men in this town kneeling at her front door, begging to let them take her out here or treat her to this. She likes to go on sometimes about how it’s her good looks Jensen best be damn grateful for.
Instead, she hugs him.
She feels so small.
Of course, she read his mind, and it earns him a small cuff to the ear.
“Don’t,” she mutters, looking at him directly. “Don’t you dare do that, Jared Tristan. Don’t you treat me like I’m fine china. I was never that kind of girl. Never been that kind of woman.”
And that’s true. He knew it. She broke each arm at least once climbing trees as a girl. Broke her right leg when she was sixteen and riding an admirer’s motorcycle alone and took a sharp turn too fast. That motorcycle is still in their garage.
“John’s got a gun,” she whispers to him, a glint of excitement in her eye. “Gonna take him to the shooting range.”
The plan is for John to stay in Smithville for a week while Jared joins Jensen on set in Vancouver. It was all Jensen and Mr. Mayhue’s idea. Right before Jensen left, he and Jared met with Mr. Mayhue at the store. Mr. Mayhue refused to accept any money for the repairs or business it cost him. The building is insured and it gave Mr. Mayhue’s brother-in-law work for once. But Mr. Mayhue tipped his ten gallon hat, leaned back in his chair, and admitted that he was concerned for Jared’s safety.
In his experience, people bent on doing petty things like this don’t stop until they get the reaction they want. It was Mr. Mayhue’s fear that vandalism would lead to something else. He gave Jared two weeks off. The store will manage.
Jared turns this all around in his head on the drive from Smithville to Austin. John drives, with Sherri up front and Jared in the backseat with his carry-on. He hugs his mother extra tight when he leaves them curbside.
He checks in without a problem, though it is his very first time flying anywhere alone and his first time using his passport. When he boards, he can't believe how spacious it is in first class. A coach ticket would have been fine, he thinks, looking around and shaking his head. Of course, Jensen paid for the ticket and refused to think of Jared flying in coach. Jared has looked up ticket prices for first class flights on this route before. His shoulders bristle and he tries to shake off his fretting. Stop it. Jensen does these things because he cares. It’s not to make Jared feel less than capable or childish. Sometimes you need to accept help, Jared tells himself.
It just seems excessive when there are people waiting on him left and right. He isn’t used to this.
When he lands at four in the afternoon, he can’t get his ears to pop. Pulling at his left ear lobe, he sends a text to his momma informing him that he made it just fine. When that’s done, he digs around his pockets for gum. His ass has fallen asleep and his joints hurt from sitting down for six hours. Even with more foot room in first class his knees still hurt from crouching. Walking out of the terminal with his carry-on, still trying to get his ears to pop, he wonders how the hell he has arrived. Customs is a breeze since he only has one piece of luggage on him.
One of the security guards hands back Jared’s passport and says, “Welcome to Canada, sir.”
By the looks of the airport, it doesn’t immediately feel like he’s in another country. Another state, yes. There are no ten gallon hats or belt buckles on display. He doesn’t hear "y’all" or "right quick" or any kind of drawl. It's almost unnerving. He follows signs for the above ground exit and prays to the universe that he doesn't get lost in the airport. Please let him have some kind of sense to find the arrivals pick up, where Jensen said he’d have a car ready and waiting for him.
Ten minutes later, Jared is completely turned around and lost. The layout to this airport isn’t anything like the few he’s been in. Just as he’s beginning to panic, his phone goes off. He expects it to be his momma.
“You’re adorable when you have no clue what you’re doin’.” A Texan drawl. Jared feels the knot in his chest loosen up. He can’t punch out a witty response and Jensen gets it. “Look to your left, sweetheart.”
This is bad.
Every time Jared panics he’s going to expect Jensen there to help him out of whatever mess he’s in.
He doesn’t care if it’s cliché or silly or totally predictable. With his carry-on wheels squeaking, he runs the short distance between him and the man in sunglasses and a baseball hat.
“God, I missed you,” Jensen says, flipping his sunglasses up to give Jared a proper kiss. "C'mere."
Jared knows he is greatly loved.
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