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He never saw the other car coming. It was a dark night already but was made worse when the wind blew down a power line, and the streetlights went out.
The oncoming car was driving twenty miles over the speed limit without headlights. Later at the hospital, doctors reported the blood alcohol level of the driver to be at 0.090% and above the legal limit to the police. This fact was inconsequential compared to the damage both vehicles incurred.
The sedan turned on its side and slid for six yards while the Toyota Tundra rolled three times, and its roof collapsed in on itself. It caught fire within seconds.
The intoxicated driver of the sedan suffered a serious hematoma to the base of his skull and died within minutes of the emergency vehicles’ arrival. Meanwhile the driver of the SUV was pinned inside the overturned, burning car until a fire unit extinguished the flames. He remained unconscious until he arrived at the hospital where he was rushed into surgery.
The doctors spent over three hours in surgery while the police desperately tried to reach his relatives without success. Neither his wife nor his parents answered their phones.
It wasn’t until two more hours had passed that they finally contacted the patient’s roommate. He arrived twenty-five minutes later, panting and shivering. A nurse led the tall man to the recovery room but did not allow him immediate access to his friend.
“A doctor will talk to you in a few minutes. He’ll explain to you the condition your friend is currently in,” she promised.
“Can I see him now?” His voice felt strange and his eyes burned with tears.
The short nurse in scrubs urged,
“Please, wait until the doctor talks to you.”
Several minutes passed, though they felt more like hours to him. He tried to sit down, stood up again and paced up and down the floor. He then managed to sit down again until the doctor finally showed up.
He was wearing green scrubs but still wore a white surgical mask around his neck and a cap on his head. “You must be Jared Padalecki.”
Jared jumped to his feet and nodded. “How’s he doing?”
“He is suffering from third degree burns to his chest and stomach. He lost a lot of fluid and blood when that happened, and he went into shock. He‘s doing better on IV fluids now, but his internal injuries are what really worries us. His right kidney was severally bruised. It was too damaged, and we had to remove it. The smoke inhalation damaged about forty percent of his lung tissue. This has put him at a serious risk of infection and fluid in the lungs.“
Jared had problems with grasping what the doctor had just said. His face went pale and his breath caught somewhere in his throat.
“He… He’s going to be fine, right?”
The doctor cleared his throat before continuing. “Mr. Padalecki, I’m sorry, but the injuries, especially those done to his lungs, are irreparable. All we can do now is to make it as comfortable as possible for your friend, so he won’t have to suffer.”
“No, that… that can’t be…” Jared shook his head in disbelief. It couldn’t be true. Jensen couldn’t… “You’ve made a mistake…”
“I’m very sorry. He’s going to need your support. He’s responding, but the morphine has made him groggy. If you need help or have any questions, just call for the nurse.”
Jared could barely comprehend what the doctor was talking about. The only words left in his head were Jensen and dead. It couldn’t be true. Jensen couldn’t leave him.
Gently, he pushed open the door to the patient’s room. Only one of the three beds was taken. Normally those beds would have seemed way too small, even for Jensen, but at that moment, Jensen looked so tiny and fragile in that hospital bed. Jared felt like breaking down right there and then. Jensen’s head was facing the dark window, so Jared couldn’t tell, if he was awake or not.
He took a step toward him and paused. For a moment he just stood there, not sure what to do next. He wanted to say something, anything, but he didn’t trust his voice to follow through with his thoughts, so he simply took Jensen’s hand in his instead. It was cold, a lot colder than usual.
“You’re here.” His voice sounded rough and hoarse. Jared had problems understanding him properly.
Jensen’s chest was covered in tubes, bandages, and cords underneath a thin gown.
“Of course.” Jared gave the hand in his a little squeeze.
A few minutes passed before Jensen turned around. The sight made Jared’s breath hitch. Jensen’s face was so swollen that his right eye could barely be seen. He was also covered in cuts and bruises, and his left arm was bandaged.
“That bad, huh?” Jensen’s lips curled up into a smile, but it looked off in his situation.
“I’ve seen you worse.” Jared returned the smile and let his fingers slide over Jensen’s palm.
“You’ve always been a bad liar,” Jensen rasped. All of a sudden his whole body was shaken by a heavy, unnatural coughing. Jared waited until Jensen calmed down again and handed him a glass of water.
“Better?”
“You should go, Jared.” Jared shook his head and smiled.
“You really think I’d leave you alone? Now? When you need me the most? Forget it, Jensen. I’m not going anywhere.”
Jensen wanted to object. Really. Jared shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t see any of this. But he couldn’t find the strength to send him away.
“Thanks…” He closed his eyes, suddenly too tired to keep them open any longer.
Jared ran his hand gently over Jensen’s cheek before he stood up to take off his shoes and jacket.
“Make a little room for me, will ye?” Jensen opened his eyes again, clearly confused. “What?”
“I said make room for me, so I fit in bed with you.”
He didn’t wait for Jensen to react, just shoved him carefully and crawled under the covers. The bed was even smaller than Jared had imagined and he nearly fell off again. So, he dragged Jensen onto his chest and curled his arms around him.
“See? Better!”
“You don’t have to–” Jensen protested, but Jared cut him off.
“Skip it! I’m here, I’m not leaving.” To prove that he meant what he had just said, he pulled Jensen a little bit closer and rested his chin on Jensen’s head.
“I’m so tired, Jared.”
“Then sleep.”
“I’m… God, Jared, I’m so afraid. I don’t want to… I…” Jensen started to sob silently. Tears fell onto Jared’s shirt, left a wet spot.
“Shh… You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here, here with you. Just focus on me.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“No, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” Jared let his fingers stroke through Jensen’s hair. Caressed him.
“She’s not even here. I really loved her and she’s not even here.”
“She would be, if the police could’ve reached her. Believe me.”
“We… we could’ve… You’re here… We could’ve…” Jensen’s voice broke, more tears streaming down his cheeks.
“We weren’t ready. It’s okay.”
“I wish–”
“Me too. Give me your hand.” Jensen did as he was told and Jared slowly pulled the ring off of his finger, before doing the same thing with his own. He put them aside.
“Why…?”
“Since we’ve known each other we took every step of the road together. When I broke up with Sandy, you were there. When your father had the heart attack, I flew home with you. You were there, when I got married, just like I was on your wedding. This moment, this last path, it belongs to us. To us alone.”
“No! Jared, no!” Jensen couldn’t believe what Jared just had hinted. He couldn’t be serious.
Jared intertwined their fingers.
“That’s not our decision to make, Jensen. It’s a fact. We’re going down together."
Jensen wanted to protest, but his strength failed him once again.
“’m tired…”
“Sleep now. I’ll still be here, when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Jensen closed his eyes and Jared could feel the life leaving his body, all tension falling off him. Jared couldn’t hold back any longer. For just a moment, he let grief wash over him, let the tears blur his vision.
But he had to be strong. For Jensen.
He placed a chaste kiss on top of Jensen’s hair and removed the IV cannula from his arm, which provided Jensen with his strong painkiller. In search for a vein he fumbled over his own arm, relieved when he found one, then took a last deep breath and stabbed the needle into his skin. He pushed the button of the infusion pump a few times to increase the dispensing of the drugs. Jared took Jensen’s lifeless hand in his again, kissed his hair once more, and closed his eyes.
The end
I've made a banner, too.
