Work Text:
Podfic Download:
“Rah, rah, ah, ah, ah, Roma, roma, ma, Gaga, ooh, la, la....What the hell?” Jensen cringed as he caught himself singing along to the radio and looked around to make sure no one had noticed even though he was alone in the car. He poked blindly at the radio buttons as he changed lanes. This April’s spring weather was beautiful and the traffic on his daily commute was moving along at decent speed. Now if only the radio would play something decent, he could call it a good morning.
:: Radio station flipping. 2-3 seconds of a few songs and announcers talking. ::
Finally, Jensen gave up on the radio and started digging for a CD. Where was that new demo disk Steve had given him? Was that it behind the passenger seat? Jensen could see the stoplight ahead turned green and he sneaked another look behind the seat. He made a disgusted noise when all found was his nephew’s kiddy rock CD.
Pulling his attention back to the road, Jensen checked his mirrors and blind spot as he merged across the two lanes of traffic coming up on the right. It was always a surprise whether the traffic was heavy or light here, and Jensen grinned to himself when he saw his opening. He slipped in behind a blue pickup and took his foot off the gas to coast through the last two interchanges before his turn. He spotted the CD case he was looking for on the floor of the passenger seat and bent to pick it up.
When he sat back up, flipping the case open with his right hand, he glanced back to the road. Suddenly the blue truck was right there in front of him. Jensen slammed both feet down on the brakes, his tires screeched in protest. the CD and case went flying and Jensen clamped both hands on the wheel, straining with all his might to stop, but the tailgate of the truck just kept coming closer. Jensen closed his eyes and turned his head.
:: CRASH!! ::
Jensen’s whole body jerked and something exploded into his face. When the car finally rocked to a stop, still on all four wheels, Jensen opened his eyes to a suffocating cloud of white. He batted at the air bag and gasped for breath. He could feel the tight cut of his seat belt across his chest and hips, but other than that nothing hurt. Taking another deep breath, he pulled down the air bag enough to look out of his windshield, noticing with a small note of relief that it wasn’t cracked.
The blue pickup truck was facing his car, against the flow of traffic, with its front driver’s wheel up on the curb. The back passenger panel was smashed, low where Jensen’s car must have slipped under its higher suspension. Jensen was arching farther forward to see how badly buckled his own hood was when a movement from the cab of the truck caught his eye. A dark haired man was struggling with his seatbelt and door handle. Even from where he sat, Jensen could tell the guy looked upset. Mindful of the flow of traffic slowing and merging to pass them, he scrambled to unlatch his own belt and push open his own door. Jensen moved around his car as quickly as possible to get to the grassy curb, wanting to face the damage and an outraged man on his own two feet and away from the dangerous surge of traffic.
The dark haired man, who Jensen could now see leaning against his hood, sported a lightly salted scruff of a beard and wore a thin t shirt over well worn jeans. His brow was furrowed in frustration and he was looking at the road between their vehicles.
“Hey, are you alright?” Jensen called as he moved around his car. “I am so sorry! I just...”
“Is he okay?” The man interrupted.
Jensen moved closer, across the grass, trying to get into his line of sight. “ Yeah, I’m okay.”
“No!” Jensen jerked to a stop at the force of the word, but the man continued in a softer voice. “There was a dog.. a puppy in the road. That’s why I braked and swerved.” He started to move, lurching away from the truck and back down onto the road.
Jensen jumped forward and grabbed his arm. “Hey no. Wait. Let me look for him. You’re hurt.”
The dark haired man shook his head and clutched at Jensen’s forearm. “No. Just rattled. I’m okay.” His eyes tracked up the road they’d just spun down and he kept on walking, his clenched hand pulling Jensen along with him. “Come on. Help me find him before he really does gets hit.”
He dropped Jensen’s arm and they both walked along the increasingly busy road looking into the ditch and between cars for any sign of the lost puppy. A weak sound, almost lost in the roar of a passing semi, caught Jensen’s attention just as he was about to say how stupid he thought the whole plan was.
It had rained the day before. There wasn’t standing water in the ditch, but everything below the shoulder was still obviously muddy. A clump of bushes was clustered around a drainage pipe, pushing up among the large chunks of broken concrete dumped to prevent erosion. One of the bushes moved, a slight shudder that wasn’t the wind. From underneath, Jensen could see a dirty white tail sticking out.
“There!” he called and pointed. He took one step down toward the culvert and heard his shoes squelch in the soft earth. Jensen cringed thinking of showing up to work with mud-encrusted shoes.
“Hey buddy, oh it’s okay. I won’t hurt you...” Jensen looked up to see the dark haired man already kneeling in the muck, reaching slowly into the brush, trying to coax the animal out to him.
Careful not to sit back on his dirty shoes, Jensen squatted where he was, eager to see the little creature that had caused all this. As he watched, he noticed a cop pulling up past them to park near the wreck with his lights on.
“Yeah.. That’s it. Oh you’re shivering.” The man continued to talk slowly and softly, his low voice soothing even to Jensen’s jangled nerves.
Jensen looked over his shoulder to see the officer climbing out of his cruiser and a second patrol car pulling up on the other side of the sideways truck. He stood to give the officer a thumbs up signal, letting them know they were okay. When he turned back to the ditch, the other man had a wiggly ball of matted muddy fur in his arms trying desperately to lick his face.
“Hey. The police are here. We should go tell them we’re alright...” Jensen frowned as the grimy pair came closer. “Is he alright?”
“I think so. He’s thin and cold though.” The dark haired man hugged the pup closer, trying to share as much warmth as possible, but his thin shirt was quickly getting soaked through.
“Here.” Without a second thought, Jensen stripped out of his hoodie, the dark material was thick and warmed by his own body. Shaking it out, he stepped closer and tried to wrap the dog in it. The creature let out a pained whimper as he tucked a hand around one of its front paws and both men froze. The dog pulled the paw up closer to his chest and they could see the crusted mud there was mixed with dried blood. Jensen finished tucking the sweatshirt around him and his rescuer juggled him to a better position, both careful of the paw.
“Thanks.” The dark haired man said, looking up to clearly meet Jensen’s eyes for the first time.
“No problem. I’m Jensen, by the way.”
“Oh. Yeah. Jeff.” The man jostled the pup again to stick out a dirt-smeared hand and Jensen smiled as he shook it. Behind them someone cleared their throat, and when they turned, a tall police officer stood frowning at them.
“And I’m Officer Brandt. Now that we’re all acquainted, perhaps you can tell me why you decided to hold up this morning’s traffic and then walk away from the scene of an accident.”
:: This is Andy Green with today’s eye in the sky traffic report. It looks like things are all backed up on eastbound Washington Street at 218. Traffic is moving, but slowed clear back to Mullen and I advise anyone coming in on 218 east to watch for merging traffic. The police are there directing and it looks as though the obstructions are being cleared now. Initial reports say one driver was avoiding a dog on the road when he was rear ended by a second driver. There are no injuries reported at this time. ::
After the police had interviewed them, the vehicles had been pushed off the road and Jensen had a shiny new Failure to Maintain Control ticket, Jensen pulled a business card out of his wallet and started scribbling on the back. He found Jeff settling the dog into the driver’s seat of his truck.
“Jeff, hey I’m sorry I messed up your day.” He held out his card, noticing Jeff’s long fingers were cleaner now as they took the white square. “This is my contact and insurance info on the front, but on the back is my buddy Chris who owns a body shop. Tell him I sent you and he’ll cut you a good deal on the repairs.” He looked down at the dog who looked pitifully tired snuggled into his muddy sweatshirt. “What are you going to do with him?”
Jeff looked up from where he was swapping Jensen’s card with one of his own in his wallet. “My mom’s on her way to pick up me up. She’s got a real soft spot for rescue dogs, we both do I guess. “ He grinned a little sheepishly as he held out his card.
“We’ll take him to my vet and get him patched up. I hope my Bisou is ready for a little brother.” Jeff stroked the dog’s head and was weakly rewarded with a lick to the hand.
“Well, Good luck. Let me know if you need anything else from me. Looks like my ride's here.” Jensen nodded to the tall shaggy kid who screeched into the parking lot of the gas station they were standing in front of.
“Will do.” Jeff called after him.
:: Radio commercial for Kane’s Automotive here ::
A little more than two weeks later on a Saturday, Jensen pulled up to Kane’s Automotive in his now two toned car. Chris had found him a scrapyard hood, grill and bumper, but said since he was giving Jeff a break on on his repairs, Jensen had to come in on his day off and do his own paint job.
“Hey is that Jeff’s truck parked in the lot?” Jensen asked as he came into the office.
Chris looked up and gave him a sly grin. “Yeah. We finished it up this week and he said he’d be by today to pick it up. Why are you asking? You hoping to “run” into him again?” Chris waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive fashion that looked ridiculous.
“No, you perv. I’m just curious. Can’t a guy be curious?” Jensen inwardly cringed at the phrase after he said it. No way Chris will pass up the chance to pounce on that innuendo.
Sure enough, Chris crows. “Son, You passed “curious” years ago. You might as well just call yourself bi and give it up. Besides, I’ve met him. He’s just your type. Not to mention you’ve asked about him or his truck every time we’ve spoken over the last 2 weeks. I think this qualifies as a full on crush.”
Jensen willed himself not to blush. “Whatever, asshole. Are we going to do my car today, or what?” He pushed past his friend and through the door leading into the main part of the shop. Chris laughed as he followed.
They worked steadily for about an hour, prepping and taping Jensen’s car for paint, until one of the guys paged Chris to the office. Jensen followed him to get a cold drink out of the fridge. As they walked through the door, Jensen smiled. Jeff leaned against the counter looking at his shoes, but looking even better than when Jensen had seen him before. His tan was darker than Jensen remembered and he was dressed in a creamy colored henley.
“Mr. Morgan!” Chris called as he moved behind the counter.
“Now Chris, I told you to call me Jeff. None of that Mister...” Jeff trailed off as he looked up.
“And I’m sure you remember Jensen here...” Chris drawled as he grinned over his shoulder.
Jensen would have smacked him if he hadn’t stopped dead when his eyes met Jeff’s. The older man smiled with genuine delight and Jensen couldn’t help but smile back.
“Yeah.” Jeff’s voice was soft and gruff. “I remember.”
Chris continued to chuckle to himself as he pulled up Jeff’s bill on the computer and rounded up the paperwork. When he realized he was still staring, Jensen looked down and cleared his throat. He finished coming into the office and walked to the counter.
“Um..” He looked up and Jeff was still smiling at him. “How’s the dog?”
Jeff laughed and held up his hand. A red leash trailed from his wrist, and as Jensen’s gaze followed it down, a fluffy face suddenly bounced up, practically level with his own. “Bandit’s going to be fine. It was a fracture and they had to put a cast on him, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed him down any.”
The dog, Bandit, was covered in shaggy white fur, fading to beige on his back with two black smudges covering both eyes. One front paw was wrapped in a bright red fiberglass cast that clattered against the tile floor as the he pranced and jumped about. As soon as Jensen moved around the counter, Bandit flung himself at him, wagging his tail and trying to lick Jensen’s face.
“I think he remembers your scent. He’s friendly, but I’ve never seen him take to anyone that fast.” Jeff chuckled. “He slept with your sweatshirt that first night at the vet until I could bring in a blanket from my house. Whined pitifully if someone tried to take it away from him.”
“Really?” Jensen grinned up at Jeff but continued to scratch at Bandit’s ears.
“Yeah. I still have it at home. I washed it up and was going to call you. you know, maybe ask you out for coffee and return it.” Jeff rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke and Jensen continued to smile.
“Yeah. I’d like that. Maybe we could get some dinner too.” Jensen was starting to think that meeting Jeff was totally worth paying his insurance deductible.
:: Tonight on KIMT hometown report we will bring you the story of Bandit, the match making pooch. Our very own investigative reporter Jensen Ackles will be in the studio instead of in the field tonight to tell us how this troublesome canine literally stopped traffic to introduce him to someone very special. We’ll be right back with more on this heart warming story, so stay tuned. ::