Chapter Text
Chapter Seven
They were sitting around Donna Ackles’ dining room table with pie and coffee; Donna Mackenzie, Josh, Jensen, and Jared were discussing the possibility of the family moving to the village with Jensen.
Mackenzie asked curiously, “What do you do for entertainment out in the middle of nowhere?”
In response to Mack’s question, Jensen deadpanned, “We don’t have time for trivial things like that. We’re too busy chopping wood and churning butter to deliver with our horse-drawn wagons.”
Jared lightly backhanded Jensen’s forearm, before he said to Mack, “We have town gatherings and dances at least twice a month. We have art shows and cookoffs, stuff like that. We have books and music. We also have some pesky thing called the internet that the young folk watch TV shows and movies on.”
Jensen added, “There’s that dang Samantha and her drinking establishment with spirits and dancing. Purely the devil’s work.”
Jared continued, “And I’m told some people occasionally slip away from the village and go see talking picture shows in the towns on this side of our mountains.”
Mackenzie gave them both her middle fingers and said, “Okay, okay, I get it.”
Everyone laughed, and then Jensen said, “You really don’t, Mack. Almost anything you can think of for fun here, you can do in the village. Some things are seasonal, like ice skating, but all of it is so much better because you don’t have to fight so many people to enjoy it.”
Donna said, “I’ve spent all my life in or on the outskirts of cities. I don’t know what I would do with myself.”
Jensen started to speak, but Jared beat him to it. “Mrs. Ackles…”
“Call me Donna, sweetheart.”
“Donna,” Jared smiled and continued, “I noticed how well kept your front yard is, and I can see from here that you have some beautiful flowers out back. Do you have a gardener?”
Pride glowed on Donna’s face as she answered, “No, I do it all myself. It calms my nerves, and I enjoy it.”
Jared said, “We have a garden club in the village that works with flowers and vegetables. Part of what they do is their own gardens, part is the public gardens and flowers, and part is teaching the younger ones how to care for gardens. Would that be something you’d be interested in?”
Donna smiled. “Yes, it really would; but what about the winter months?”
Jensen said, “We have four rather decent-sized greenhouses that need workers during the winters. There are also cooking classes, art classes, sewing and quilting classes, and something I know you’ll love—card clubs.”
When Donna’s grin grew even wider, Jensen thought there might just be a chance she would come with them.
Josh, on the other hand, had a sour expression on his face. He said, “I’ve been a cop all my life. I wouldn’t know how to do anything else.”
Jared said, “We’ve got almost a dozen security men, but we can always use more. It’s not exactly what you’re used to, but I guarantee it’s safer. Instead of going undercover, you’d be walking a rather large perimeter to ensure hikers don’t wander into the village. Instead of car chases and shootouts, you’d occasionally be getting home a guy or gal who’s had too much to drink. Instead of taking prisoners to jail, you’d be doing supply runs for things we need for our people. It’s still ‘serve and protect;’ it’s just more serving than protecting.”
Donna asked, “What about dating? You and Jensen have found each other, and I’m thrilled about that. But what are the chances that Mack and Josh will find someone?”
“Mom!” Mack and Josh said in unison.
Jensen smirked at his siblings as Jared answered Donna, “We have three-hundred to three-hundred-and-fifty single men and women. I don’t know the female-to-male ratio, but the chances of finding love are very good for your kids.”
Mack hid her face; Josh looked around the room; and Donna smiled. Jensen was enjoying the tension his siblings were feeling since, for once, he wasn’t the one embarrassed.
Josh finally broke the uncomfortable silence and asked, “What if we end up not liking it there?”
Jared said, “You’re Jensen’s family. For his sake, I’d have to have you chained in a cave to keep you there.”
At the shocked look on Josh’s face, Jensen burst out laughing.
Jared said, “I’m just kidding. You and everyone else there are free to come and go as you please. If you decide to leave for good, we’d miss you, but we’d wish you well and send you off with everything we could think of that you might need until you get on your feet.”
Mack said, “I have to admit that it’s very tempting, but I have a feeling that Dad’s actions are going to follow us no matter where we go or what we do.”
Jensen said, “Not in the village, Mack. Not one person there looks at me sideways because of him or my old job.”
Josh asked Jared, “How long do we have to decide?”
Jared answered, “As long as you need. There’s no time limit on this invitation.”
Mack said, “I can see Mama working with gardens and flowers and Josh working security to earn their keep, but I have no skills other than law enforcement skills. I don’t see that I have anything to contribute.”
Jared said, “Forgive me, Mack, but that’s crap. You were going to train cops in Dallas. You could train our guys. Tom has worked with them, but I’m betting you know more up-to-date techniques. You could also do physical training with others. We’re safe in the village, but everyone leaves some time for one reason or another. It wouldn’t hurt for them to be able to defend themselves out here in the world.”
Donna said, “I just don’t know. I’d feel like a freeloader if I didn’t have an income.”
Jared put his hand on Donna’s and said, “That’s part of the reason most of our people chose to live in the village. Money has become too important, too much a part of our identities. You would be doing more for our community by teaching even one teenager how to grow tomatoes than you could do out here working a full-time job at some office.”
Josh said, “You boys are staying tonight, right?”
Jared shook his head, “I’m sorry, no. I truly appreciate the invitation, but I wouldn’t be able to take all this noise that long. I’m sitting here about to jump out of my skin right now.”
Donna, Mack, and Josh looked at each other in confusion. Jensen said, “You don’t hear it because you’re used to it. I can hear it all now—and it’s getting on my nerves. I can’t imagine how bad it must be for Jared.”
Jared reached over and took Jensen’s hand to show his appreciation for Jensen’s understanding. He said, “I’m betting the quiet will get to them this way for a while.”
Jensen agreed, “Yeah, but going from noise to quiet is easy; just turn a radio on low. There’s nothing you can do about going from quiet to noise except deal with it. I mean, you could try earplugs, but I doubt that would even work in this scenario.”
Donna asked, “It’s really that peaceful?”
Jared answered, “We have our dogs that bark now and then, birds and crickets, and the noise of people out and about until nine or ten o’clock in the evening. But the cars, the planes, the sirens...we don’t have that at all unless there’s an emergency.”
Jensen said to his siblings, “It’s not as bad here for Mama, but you guys are about to head to the cities. Non-stop traffic, screaming neighbors, gunshots left and right, sirens, and airplanes are what’s waiting for you. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl now that I know how much better it can be.”
“Yeah,” Josh said, “but there’s also any kind of food you want anytime you want it. There’re always new people to meet and not the same old faces all the time. Variety, man.”
Donna said, “Bank robbers, muggers, home invaders, rapists, murderers, drug addicts, drug dealers, and gangs...you’ll have that variety too.”
Jared suggested, “Why don’t the three of you come and spend next week with us before you go to your new jobs?”
Mack said, “I thought you didn’t allow visitors?”
Jared clarified, “It’s not something we generally do because most people who come don’t want to leave; but because Jensen saved our home and you’re Jensen’s family, I think that warrants an exception.”
~~~~~~~~~~
At Jensen’s request, Ming-Na had one of the empty two-storey houses prepared for his mom and siblings. He was pleased when they decided to jump right in rather than sit back and observe. Donna was right at home working in the greenhouse during the day and joining in the card games in the evening. Mack was having a blast teaching self-defense to different age groups; she couldn’t stop talking about her best student—Neil, of all people. Josh and Tom were nearly inseparable for the week with Josh and Jensen even joining a supply run.
Kane was driving Jensen’s truck with Jensen riding shotgun and Tom and Josh in the backseat. Josh asked Jensen, “So exactly what should I expect here, little brother?”
Jensen shrugged and said, “You’ll have to ask Kane or Tom. This is my first supply run.”
Josh’s voice clearly revealed his surprise when he asked, “Seriously?”
Jensen chuckled and replied. “Yeah. When I first got here, I couldn’t take the chance of leaving the village and having my cover blown, so I used the excuse of staying behind to organize shelves in order to make unloading and stocking easier. When I got back after quitting the FBI, we all just fell into the same routine. I was always surprised Kane didn’t have anything to say about that.”
Kane huffed and muttered, “That’s the one thing I didn’t think of as suspicious.”
Jensen laughed and lightly smacked Kane on the leg.
Josh continued with his questions. “So, guys, care to give me a heads up here?”
Kane said, “Keep your panties on, Ackles. You’re acting like your brother.”
Josh reached forward and lightly smacked Kane on the back of the head.
“Hey!” Kane exclaimed, jerking the steering wheel causing the truck to lurch to the side. “Driving here, douchebag!”
Tom, who had one hand braced against the ceiling of the cab from the sharp motion said, “Kane, I’d like to get home in one piece, if you don’t mind.”
“Don’t worry, man,” Kane replied, driving along smoothly now. “You’ll be back before Jen pops.”
“Who’s Jen?” Josh asked in confusion.
“Tom’s wife,” Kane answered. “She’s preggers and ready to pop any time now.”
Tom rolled his eyes, ignoring Kane as he explained to Josh how the supply runs worked: “There’s nothing to it. Jensen has the list of items we need. We’re going to one of our usual outlet malls about fifteen miles away. We split the list, grab what we need, meet back at the truck, and go have lunch.”
Josh asked, “Why did the trucks behind us take different roads?”
It was Kane who answered. “They’re going to different stores. We’ve been doing this long enough to know where to buy what for the best value. We also switch up on every trip so we don’t have people getting too used to seeing us.”
Josh rolled his eyes and asked, “Do you know how paranoid that sounds?”
Jensen replied, “Is it paranoid not to go where you know Dad’s old friends hang out? Cause it’s the same thing. When everybody knows you, conversations ensue. Conversations breed questions. Questions, especially ones with vague or no answers, breed a hell of a lot of curiosity. Curiosity about where we come from is the last thing we need.”
Josh nodded and said, “Fair point. So, we’re just going shopping?”
Kane smirked and said, “Got it in one.”
Tom asked, “What? Were you expecting a shootout?”
Josh glared at Tom before breaking into a laugh. He said, “No, but a little more cloak and dagger would be fun.”
All four of the men laughed at that. Josh later admitted to Jensen that the supply run had been the most fun he’d had in years.
During Jensen’s family’s visit, there was a town dinner on Wednesday evening, an art show on Thursday afternoon, and a dance on Friday evening. Donna and Chris talked about different recipes for hours. On Saturday, Mack and Neil went on a private picnic. On Sunday, Josh escorted Samantha’s daughter, Alona, to church.
On the Monday before they were scheduled to leave on Tuesday, Jensen joined his family at their house for dinner. He felt they’d been closer this week than they had when they’d all lived together in Texas.
Donna announced, “I want you kids to know that I’m flying back to Texas tomorrow only long enough to make arrangements to return by the end of next week because I’m moving here with Jensen.”
Jensen took his mother’s hand and kissed the back of it.
Mack smiled. “I was going to announce tonight that I’m not even going back. I’ll get Cousin Jake to pack my stuff and ship it to the town for me.”
Josh sat quietly and pushed the food around on his plate. Jensen noticed and said, “It’s okay, man. I know you prefer city life.”
Josh put his fork on his plate and said, “It’s not that. I didn’t say anything because I wanted to surprise Mama, but I bought a house in L.A. It’s too late to back out even though I want to. I can’t move here now.”
Jensen said, “You still can. Lease the house and use the money to pay the mortgage. You won’t need it living here.”
Josh shook his head. “That wouldn’t be right. Everyone else gives what they can, but I would be selfishly paying off my own house.”
Jensen argued, “Once the house is paid off or you’ve made enough payments on it, you can sell it or keep leasing it. You can contribute the profit or keep it. It doesn’t matter. Your contribution here is security. That matters more than the money, especially after how close these people recently came to losing their home.”
Josh asked, “You don’t think Jared would mind?”
Jensen smiled. “I know he wouldn’t; but if it makes you feel better, you don’t even have to tell anyone about it.”
Less than a month later, Donna, Mack, and Josh were living in the same house, and Jensen had moved in with Jared.