lotrspnfangirl | Underneath the Oak Tree -- Chapter Two (Reply)

May 17th, 1951
Boston, Massachusetts

Jensen couldn’t sit still on the train seat. His feet were bouncing, shaking his entire body as he waited for the train to pull into the station. It had been three years since he’d been to his grandparents’ farm and in Jensen’s opinion that was three years too long.

After that first summer, things had continued to downslide at home. Alan became even more morose and angry than he had before Jensen and Josh had left for Vermont, and Jensen was left feeling guilty at how much he appreciated that the anger wasn’t only directed at him any longer. Alan was angry all the time it seemed and complained about everything–especially the neighbors who had way too many parties in his opinion and spent their evenings laughing much too loudly and playing catch much too often with their children, whom Alan felt were totally spoiled and mollycoddled.

After her sons had returned, their mother had spent those next six months fighting to keep her job. There were many tense arguments heard through their parents’ bedroom walls over the subject of who wore the pants in their family. It continued nearly every night, until one silent morning, when the boys tiptoed downstairs to find their mother still at home at breakfast time. No one had been allowed to ask about it. After that she was always home. Josh had gotten the pharmacy job and now after each day at school, Jensen walked back home by himself, while Josh was only too happy to attend to the store and stay out of the house until well after 8pm.

At first Jensen had been jealous, had wanted a job of his own. Then, Donna had become pregnant and as soon as Mackenzie was born, he had gotten his wish of sorts. With Josh out of the house as often as he was and Alan too busy emptying his glass of scotch every afternoon, Jensen and Donna became all Mackenzie had. The summers had been the worst – Josh was never home, leaving at sunrise and returning around sunset. Alan, at least, had gotten a construction job and for the most part was out of the house as well.

Not wanting to leave his mother and tiny sister alone, when the suggestion was made for Jensen to go to the farm that next summer – and then again the one after that—Jensen had declined, saying he didn’t want to miss anything that happened with Mackenzie and three months was an awful long time to be away. Donna had gratefully accepted the boy’s decision, and the subject was not brought up again until this year.

This time Jensen craved a break from the household tension and he welcomed the offer to travel to Boston once more. It had taken all of his resolve not to pack his bags immediately after receiving confirmation he would be going -- he had to still wait six weeks after all for school to end.

Kissing Mackenzie goodbye after he finally packed his bag for the trip this year was actually harder than Jensen had imagined it would be. It wasn’t her fault that tensions were so thick they were suffocating every member of the family, and despite the mild resentment he felt towards taking care of her when her own father should’ve stepped up, Jensen loved Mackenzie more than anything in the entire world.

“I’m gonna miss you, frog.”

“Ribbit!” Mackenzie giggled and hopped on all fours towards Jensen’s feet before reaching up to him. Jensen bent down and picked the toddler up, giving her a hug.

“I’m gonna’ miss you, Mac. You be a good little Froggy for Mama while I’m gone, all right?

Suddenly she was clinging desperately to her older sibling. “No, Jen… No go …no leave Mac!” she scolded imperiously in her whining two year-old voice as tears trickled from her eyes.

“I’ll be back soon, Mac… I’ll bring you home some yummy corn, how’s that?” Mackenzie’s whimpering grew more muffled and she buried her face into Jensen’s neck, nodding so the hair at the top of her head rubbed against his chin. “And I’ll write to you too, you can have Mama read the letters to you, okay? Mama can help you make some pictures to send to me, too. Mac can draw Jen some pictures, okay?”

“Froggy pictures!” Her bright, blue eyes shone through her tears and he laughed as he put her back on the floor.

“Yup… Froggy pictures! I’ll hang up every one, promise.”

Now, Jensen was alone and for a brief moment when he took his seat on the train by himself, he panicked and wondered if he was making a mistake by leaving. What if his grandparents didn’t pick him up? What if he couldn’t find his way through Boston without Josh’s help? What if something happened to Mackenzie and he wasn’t there? What if, what if, what if?

Josh had clapped him on the shoulder as they said goodbye on the platform and gave him a quick hug, telling him he was going to miss him this summer. Jensen had nodded and watched as his brother slipped back behind the wheel of their father’s pick-up and drove away, leaving him officially alone. He sighed and told himself he was only a year younger than Josh had been that first year they went to the farm. Jensen could do this. It wasn't like he was going to be walking back home. He could just imagine the response he would get from his father...

It took them two days of travel and Jensen had barely slept; he’s replayed countless ways this could go wrong, every possible situation including Jensen tripping and falling into the Boston bay and drowning the moment he got into the city to meet his grandfather. As he dragged his bag along with him, his heart skipped happily and a huge grin broke out across his face when he saw Gerry Padalecki leaning against a light post, directly across from the main doors of South Station.

“Gerry!” Jensen barely looked as he booked it across the street and launched himself into Gerry’s outstretched arms.

“Hey, kiddo! We’ve all missed you! I could barely milk all of those cows without your help.” Gerry ruffled his hair and reached down to grab Jensen’s bag and sling it up over his own shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind… Got myself a vehicle and I offered to get you on the way through so your Grandpa wouldn’t have to drive down.”

“Nope!” Jensen beamed back at him, all of the nerves he had felt the entire trip bleeding away.

“Well… alright then! I’ve got my boys with me this year, I think you’ll like them.”

“Oh yeah?” Jensen’s eyes widened a bit and he found himself walking faster, now ahead of Gerry. “Are they driving with us? Are they here now?”

“Yeah, Jeffrey and Jared are waiting for us by the car. You’re just about Jeffrey’s age… He’s twelve this year.” Jensen skipped the rest of the way to the car, eager to meet the boys he’d heard so much about already.

“Boys! Come say hello to Jensen!” Gerry called as they approached the car. It was a dark green Mercury, the large headlight globes seemed to be glowing in the sunlight, and Jensen itched to run his hands over it. In their neighborhood he had seen a few Oldsmobiles and Fords, but mostly everyone in Austin stuck with their pick-up trucks or convertibles. Leaning with his foot against the fender, a boy Jensen’s age looked up. “Foot off the damn car, Jeff!” The boy pushed off, rolling his eyes and when he moved, Jensen could see a smaller boy with shaggy hair peeking out at him.

“Hey,” Jensen gave a small wave. The smaller boy timidly ducked his head down to peek at him from beneath the hair that now curtained his face while his older brother rolled his eyes, stepped forward, and held out his hand.

“I’m Jeff. The shy brat behind me? That’s Jared.” Jensen smiled and shook the boy’s hand quickly while Gerry stood behind him and chuckled.

“Come on, boys, let’s get going. We want to get there before dinner, don’t we?”

“Yes, sir!” all three of them answered at once and Jensen climbed into the back seat with Jared while Jeff took the front. Gerry had loaded his bag into the floor well beneath Jared’s feet and the tips of his toes just barely scraped the top of the bag.

Jensen smiled as Jeff instantly launched into a long description of what he’d missed over the last two summers –because apparently even though Jensen and Josh hadn’t been able to go, Gerry had still gone every summer and had started bringing his own boys along to help.

Jared was silent, peering shyly at Jensen from beneath his bangs, and Jensen tried to get him to smile.

“Did you go last year, Jared?” the younger boy shook his head quickly, hair flying in all directions before he turned his body and lifted his face to look out the window avoiding any further interaction. Jensen shrugged, knowing how shy his little sister was whenever they met someone new. He knew it would be okay once they got to know each other better. They had the entire summer ahead of them. Jensen smiled.

June 10th, 1951
Somerset, Vermont

“Jensen! Jeff! Wait up!” Jeff sighed loudly, throwing his head back with his eyes closed as he skidded to a stop on the dirt path. Jensen froze with him, turning around and giving Jared a sheepish grin, feeling guilty that they had left the younger boy behind… again. “I… thought you were… gonna wait!” Jared panted out, gasping for air and bracing his hands on his knees when he finally caught up to them.

“We would’ve if we had wanted you to come with us, Jay,” Jeff rolled his eyes and turned around to his brother. “Sometimes I don’t want to watch out for my baby brother, you know?”

Jared looked hurt and Jensen was immediately on edge.

Jeff and Jared fought constantly. Being almost twelve himself, or at least closer to twelve then Jared was, Jensen knew exactly where Jeff was coming from. When they climbed the trees across from the farm they had to make sure they found a tree Jared’s short little legs could manage to get up on, and if not, they had to push him up and then help him down. When they raced the chickens, they had both gotten scolded by Gerry when they hadn’t noticed how Jared had tripped and scraped up his knee. Jeff had been mad about that one…

But, Jensen also knew what it was like to want to hang out with your older brother and he was awful glad Josh had always wanted to play with him too. He knew Jeff had a mean side though, but he wasn’t about to say that part out loud. Instead he crossed his arms and shrugged when Jeff looked at him.

“I mean… I guess he could go with us, couldn’t he, if he promises to keep up,” Jensen offered.

Jeff sighed once and then nodded reluctantly.

“Alright, but you have to carry the towels.” Jared’s eyes lit up and he bundled up Jeff and Jensen’s towels along with his own and jogged after them. When Jeff turned around, Jensen threw him a huge, matching smile and Jensen couldn’t help be proud that another crisis had been averted.

His thoughts went back to his third day on the farm when they’d gone to the creek for the first time. They had been wrestling on the bank, and Josh had gotten too rough and ended up giving little Jared a black eye. One thing led to another and before Jensen knew what had happened, the brothers were fighting so badly that Jared ended up drawing blood when he bit into Jeff’s shoulder and when Jensen went to pull him off, he himself ended up with a black eye. His grandfather had made them sit in different corners of the barn and threatened all of them with spending the entire night out there in the hayloft without any supper if they didn’t figure out how to get along better.

Jensen did not want a repeat performance of that night… Part of him had thought that sleeping in the hayloft would be kind of fun though. They could see the stars from the large window and they could fall asleep to the soft sounds of the horses stomping gently and whinnying quietly and the chirping of the crickets. But then as the sun fell from the horizon, a howling was added to the sounds of the night and Jensen had notbeen excited about the possibility of trying to go outside to pee and coming face to face with a coyote.

This time, thankfully, by the time they reached the bank of the creek, Jeff had all but forgotten his displeasure at his little brother tagging along. He playfully snatched away the towels, threw them onto the sand and then pushed a laughing Jared into the water. Jensen kicked off the sneakers he was wearing and followed after them.

The brothers taught Jensen how to play ‘Marco Polo’ and after countless rounds in which Jensen realized Jared was a lot smarter and quicker than either he or Josh had given him credit for, the three boys found themselves sprawled out on their towels underneath the sun, Jensen sandwiched between Jeff and Jared.

“So where’s your older brother?” Jeff asked, raising his arms to fold them underneath his head. “Dad said last time you were here, it was you and your brother.”

“Yeah, Josh.” Jensen nodded. “He’s working for a pharmacy near our house… he decided he wants to be a pharmacist and spends like, all of his time there when he isn’t home. I don’t know… Dad keeps telling him if he gets a good relationship with Mr. Collins then he might write him a good reference letter or something so Josh can go to school for it. He acts like he knows everything already… I don’t know why he’d have to go to school for it.”

“Oh,” Jeff replied, satisfied with Jensen’s answer.

“So… what about you? Why doesn’t your mom come up with your dad?” Jensen tilted his head and shielded his eyes from the sun to look at Jeff’s face.

“She’s with Grandpa,” Jared answered instead and Jensen had to shift to look in the younger boy’s direction. “He doesn’t like to travel… hates to leave the house unless he’s going to church. He used to be a doctor but he had to step down ‘cuz he started talking crazy and looking at people funny. Mama says she hates living with him ‘cuz she thinks some of the things he says aren’t right and he can be really mean, but Mama didn’t really want to travel with Megan anyways so she stayed there.”

“Who’s Megan?” Jensen asked, not knowing what to say about Jared and Jeff’s grandfather. He kind of reminded him of Jensen’s own father…

“Oh, she’s our little sister,” Jeff spoke up. “Mama was pregnant the first year Mr. Ackles hired Dad so she’s going to be three in October.”

“Oh. I have a little sister now too. She just turned two before I came down here.” They fell into a comfortable silence after that, all three boys letting the sun warm and dry their skin until Grandma was hollering for them from the house.

“I’ll race you back,” Jeff called as he leapt to his feet, ripping his towel from the ground and spraying Jensen with the sand.

“We both know you’ll win!” Jensen grumbled and tried to shake off the sand. Beside him Jared carefully picked up his towel and then started off like a shot after his older brother. Jensen couldn’t help but laugh and follow after them.

June 26th, 1951
Somerset, Vermont

"Jensen?" Jensen woke with a start. He had finally fallen asleep despite the thunderstorm that was still raging on outside. With wide eyes he sat up and tried to see what had awakened him. A horrendous flash of lightning lit up the room suddenly and he saw Jared standing beside his bed, a teddy bear clenched tightly against his chest, and his eyes about ready to bug out from his head.

"Jared?" Jensen shifted so he was closer to the edge of the bed, confused. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Je-Jeff kicks an-and the li-ligh-lightning woke me up an-and--" a loud clap of thunder interrupted Jared's stuttering and he let out a shriek and jumped up onto the mattress with Jensen, his bear falling to the floor as he threw his arms around Jensen's middle.

Jensen was shocked by the sudden bear hug and seconds away from pushing the kid out of his bed and telling him to go back to his own room when he felt how hard Jared was shaking. The boy’s entire body was shivering, and over the downpour Jensen swore he could even hear Jared's teeth chattering and his heart thudding within his small chest.

He settled back, pulling Jared flat next to him and folded an arm under his head so Jared could still hug him without either of their arms falling asleep.

"You know what my big brother Josh used to tell me about thunderstorms?" He said softly and carded a hand back through Jared's long hair.

"N-no..." Jared's voice was muffled against his side.

"He told me that Thunder and Lightning were brothers, and although they were very close... They sometimes fought. When they did? Thunder got very loud and would storm around and stomp his feet; so loud that even the smallest ant on the ground could hear it!

"Lightning wasn't as loud, but he liked to tease Thunder by flashing him with light whenever Thunder started to calm down. Because he was trying to make his brother mad, sometimes he could even light up the whole sky!" As if on cue, a huge flash of lightning lit up the room again followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

Jared jumped but kept his eyes pinned on Jensen's face. "They seem really, really angry right now," the younger boy whispered and Jensen nodded.

"They do. And when they fight, they make their friends and their family upset and all of them cry because they know the brothers really love each other even though they fight."

"Is the ra-rain their te-tears?"

"Yup! You're right!" Jensen nodded and smiled at Jared, remembering the stormy night Josh had told him this same story when his own fearful crying had pulled Josh from his slumber in the middle of a night.

"What happens if they don't stop fighting?" Jared asked in a whisper, jumping again at the low rumble of thunder.

"Won't happen." Jensen shook his head. "Family is important and no matter what? They always make up. And when they do? The sun always shines extra bright the next day for the brothers." Jared was quiet and they lay in silence listening to the thunder that was starting to taper off.

"It sounds like they're not fighting so much anymore."

"They're probably getting tired. Why don't you try to go to sleep?"

"Can I stay in here with you, Jensen?"

Jensen smiled and nodded, fixing the covers over them. "Well… you're already here so I guess that's okay."

Jared snuggled against his side, burying his face in against the older boy’s shoulder and was soon fast asleep. Jensen watched him for a few moments and smiled sadly, wondering if Mackenzie had experienced her first real storm yet and wondering if Josh would've told her the story too. He closed his eyes and let himself drift back to sleep, images of him and Jared jumping from cloud to cloud, each step they took giving off a burst of thunder and their smiles lighting up the sky.

July 4th, 1951
Somerset, Vermont

“Come on!” Jeffery was already standing at the edge of the woods, his entire body screaming out his impatience. Jensen rolled his eyes and turned around again, waiting for Jared to catch up.

“Come on, Jared! Your brother’s going to have a fit if we don’t catch up to him,” he laughed when Jared was at his side. The younger boy had been roped into carrying their picnic basket, and despite the struggle it was giving him, Jared had adamantly refused any help in carrying it.

“I know… I know…” Jared huffed and tried to shift the awkward basket higher on his forearm.

“We’re almost there. My Grandpa said the clearing was just through these woods…” Jensen turned back around and started after Jeff again, Jared close on his heels. The day had been hot and long and all three boys had been busy helping Gerry and Albert dig a new well for the back fields.

“Boys, this is where the money is!” Albert laughed as walked with the rest of the company in tow. Jensen had never been this far back at the farm. Most of the fields and pens were closer to the house and the creek. As far as he knew, all there was behind the large farmhouse were fields overgrown by wild grass and sweet-smelling honeysuckle as far as the eye could see.

For the past month, however, both Gerry and his Grandfather had been far out in the back acreage, driving the big tractor along back and forth through the long grass while Jensen and Jeff were tasked with tending to all the animals’ needs and Jared was kept busy gathering whatever fruits or vegetables Jensen’s grandmother requested that day.

Now, Jensen could hardly believe his eyes as acres and acres of recently tilled soil stretched before him. Jensen looked towards his Grandfather and smiled when he saw the look of pure joy on the older man’s face. He was almost skipping, whistling to the last song he had heard on the radio, his arms swinging at his sides.

In the three years since Jensen had last been at the farm, there had been a few changes. One of those involved some of the livestock. For many years the acres just past the barnyard had always been tilled and planted with the help of his grandfather’s big plow-horses, Molly and Matilda. When he returned this summer however Jensen had been quite surprised to see that the two old mares were now spending their daylight hours quietly munching grass in the small pasture alongside the milk cows. And yet still each morning Grandfather and Gerry said their goodbyes and would go off to “tend the crops” happily disappearing into the early morning gloom.

So Jensen had silently wondered exactly what the men had been up to each day. When he had first arrived, Jensen had listened curiously as they discussed how after the acquisition of the tractor, his grandfather had been able to almost double crop production and had increased his farm’s profitability greatly. Jensen assumed that meant he made more money in the past three years than he had in a long while, and with the way his grandmother and grandfather were constantly sharing happy looks and touches, Jensen was just as thrilled. Now after seeing the results of the two men’s weeks of hard work Jensen truly understood the tired smiles and happiness the new tractor had left in its wake.

In the month since the clearing of the back fields had started, Gerry and Albert were usually hunched over at the dinner table talking about the equipment they would need to dig a well, the type of pump that Gerry believed he could get working, and how adding a new irrigation system to the back fields would give the Ackles’ Farm more crops than they would know what to do with.

As they came to the huge clearing, there was a large, towering machine waiting for them. Jensen felt his eyes widen and he turned to Jeff and Jared to see the same expression on both of their faces.

“What is that?” Jeff was the first to find his words, looking between his father and Albert.

Gerry laughed and said, “That, boys, is the biggest dang drill you’ll ever see on this farm!” Jensen turned to look at the machine again and it must have shown on his face that his questions weren’t anywhere close to being answered. “I’ve got some friends who were in the oil business before the war, so I spent some time last fall talking to them and they told me about this here derrick,” Gerry continued as he pointed to the triangle support around the huge drill. “And with this baby,” he patted the large auger in the center, “we’ll get us a nice, deep well and we’ll just barely have to get our hands dirty digging it.”

Jensen nodded slowly and Jeff turned his head towards his father. “Just tell us what you want us to do, Papa. I’m not even gonna try to understand that thing.”

Although the massive drill ended up doing most of the work, Jeff and Jensen had spent most of the afternoon pushing away the large rocks and rolling them down into the closest field as Albert and Gerry lifted them out of the way of the drill’s path. Jared, being too small to be able to carry or roll most of the rocks, got to help operate the large drill under Gerry’s watchful eye.

The tired muscles in his arms and legs were screaming at Jensen as he trudged up the grassy hill and for a second, he was glad Jared was the one who had to carry the heavy picnic basket containing their late supper. At least he was carrying something today. Jensen stopped again to watch as Jared struggled to make his way over a large, knotted tree root and with a sigh he retraced his steps back to help the smaller boy.

“Let me take that while you climb over,” he offered and reached out his hands for the basket. Jared agreed gratefully, and had to almost climb on all fours to get around the large root. When he reached for the basket again, Jensen shook his head. “No, you can carry it on the way back, how’s that?”

“Okay,” Jared smiled and moved quickly to keep pace with Jensen’s wider stride. “Do you think you’re going to be here next summer?”

“I don’t know…” Jensen answered honestly. “I’d like to…”

“Me too,” Jared smiled and flashed Jensen a dimpled smile. “I heard Papa talking to Mr. Ackles about getting some property up here… He just has to talk to my mama first. But what if we did live here too? Wouldn’t that be cool? I think I wanna be a farmer just like Mr. Ackles when I grow up.”

“Oh yeah?” Jensen laughed, throwing Jared a quick glance before returning his attention to the tree roots before them. “Farmer Jared, I think that sounds pretty good.”

“Yup! Except I wouldn’t have any cows…” Jared shook his head quickly.

“No cows? How can you have a farm with no cows?” Jensen stopped and turned to look at him, confused.

“They’re so big!” Jared’s voice had dropped to a whisper, his eyes almost bugging out of his head as he reached for Jensen’s arm. His small fingers were twisted fearfully into the sleeve of Jensen’s over shirt and Jensen almost laughed at his panicked expression. “Like, what if they fall over and you get squished and all you were trying to do was get some milk for breakfast and then your guts go all over the barn floor…” Jared shivered.

“I don’t think cows just fall over, Jay,” Jensen pointed out, shaking his head with a soft laugh. In his mind’s imagination he tried to picture a big falling cow, “Is that why you don’t help me and Jeff milk the cows in the mornings?”

Jared nodded in response. “Yes! But… don’t tell Jeff, okay?”

“Your secret is safe with me. Huh… Jared is afraid of cows…” Jensen chuckled in disbelief at the little boy’s childlike fear of cows. Thinking the older boy was making fun of him, Jared huffed sadly and pushed Jensen’s arm away, taking a few steps to the side to put distance between them. Jensen tried, but failed, to keep his amusement inside. “Jared! I’m sorry… Really I wasn’t laughing at you… I was…”

“Just you wait until I find out what you’re afraid of, Jensen! I bet you I won’t laugh at you! ‘Cuz you’re my friend!” Jared spat out angrily. Jensen stopped laughing immediately, feeling guilty at the sudden hurt reflected in Jared’s voice.

“You’re right… and I’m sorry, Jared” he caught up with Jared and nudged his shoulder. “I’ll make sure that I take over all cow duties, okay?”

“For the rest of forever.” Jared muttered and Jensen nodded in agreement.

“For the rest of forever, I promise. Now come on, I bet you Jeff has already set up the blanket.” Jared nodded and they made the rest of the trek through the woods in a comfortable silence. It was Jared who reached the edge of the woods first and when he gasped, Jensen quickened his pace.

The moment the trees ended, it opened up into a large grassy, rolling meadow. The area stretched on for what felt like miles, but at the far right was a massive oak tree, its thick branches stretched out towards the fading sun.

“Jensen! Look!” Jared pointed ahead and Jensen’s eyes followed his finger. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of fireflies dancing through the ends of the grass their tiny lights glimmering like magic. Jensen wondered if once it was full dark, if the meadow would be completely lit up because of them. “They’re beautiful, like fairy lights,” Jared whispered in awe.

“Come on!” Jensen laughed, shifting the basket to his left arm and reaching for Jared’s hand. Jared gripped his hand tightly and allowed himself to be pulled forward and together they ran the rest of the way up the gentle hill to the base of the oak tree.

“Up here!” Jeff called to them as Jensen dropped the picnic basket onto the checkered blanket Jeff had carried. Looking up, they saw Jeff sitting on a large branch, his legs swinging in the air. “You guys have got to come up here!”

“Come on, Jay!” Jensen laughed and ran to the base of the tree, circling it once before he saw the path Jeff must have taken to get up. He waited for Jared and leaned down, locking his hands together for Jared’s foot to give him the boost he needed to get into the lowest branch. “Just don’t fall…” he cautioned and Jared rolled his eyes.

“I know how to climb a tree, Jensen!” Jensen laughed and waited for Jared to get to the next branch, glad to see Jeff’s outstretched arm ready to help his little brother, before he climbed up onto the branch himself. They chose two thick branches and Jensen was quickly seated on one beside Jared while Jeff had his legs stretched out along the second branch with his back against the trunk of the tree.

The upper branches were spread apart, giving them all the view they needed over the top of the meadow and the woods far beyond.

“Do you think we’re gonna see any?” Jared asked, leaning his head against Jensen’s shoulder and swinging his legs in time with Jensen’s.

“I hope so… Grandma said they were talking about it in town when she went to check up on the farm stand…” Jensen nodded, leaning his left shoulder against the tree trunk.

“We just have to wait until dark,” Jeff added from the branch slightly below them. “Can’t see anything if it’s not dark out.”

Jared nodded, accepting the answer and they sat in an anxious silence. When the first sparkles of light exploded against the night sky, Jared gasped, sitting up straight and leaning forward, eyes wide. Jensen reached out to grab him, half afraid that Jared was going to end up launching himself straight out of the tree.

“Jensen! Look!” Jared’s mouth was open in awe, his eyes reflecting the fantastic splashes of colors that were blossoming brightly across the sky far above the tree line. Jensen laughed and looked down to see Jeff looking at his little brother with a wide grin on his face.

“Told you they were the most amazing things you’d ever see, Jay!” Jeff smiled and Jared nodded down at him quickly before snapping back to the fireworks. It was then that it hit Jensen – there hadn’t been fireworks since he himself was even younger than Jared was now… The last time he had seen fireworks was before the war. He’d heard his grandfather talk a bit about it that morning at breakfast, how the towns were finally able to spare money for the explosives and how it had been enough time that hopefully it wouldn’t upset too many veterans. He looked beside him, at the awe and transfixed stare on the younger boy’s face, and knew that this was the first time Jared had ever seen fireworks for the Fourth of July.

He moved his arm around Jared’s shoulder, squeezing gently, and when he looked back up, the fireworks seemed even brighter.

August 3rd, 1951
Boston, Massachusetts

Jensen felt sad, sadder than he had at the end of the first summer when he had to leave his grandparents’ farm and return to his own home.

He was pressed into the back seat of Gerry’s big green car, both Jeff and Jared sitting with him this time as the front seat was loaded with all of their bags. Jared was unnaturally quiet—once he had warmed up to Jensen after that first week at the barn, it was rare for the younger boy to be doing anything other than talking, loudly and animatedly. Jensen looked over at Jeff and saw he looked just as miserable as Jensen felt.

“Come on guys, you’ll see each other soon enough. Before you know it, it’ll be summer again!” Gerry said comfortingly as he pulled the car into a parking spot, cutting off the engine. He turned in the driver’s seat, offering all three boys a small smile. “Come on, you’re mother’s never going to let you come again if you look that miserable. That goes for you too Jensen!”

“Yes, Gerry,” Jensen nodded and tried to make himself smile. He was excited to see Mackenzie, he had every one of her pictures she’d sent over the summer in the top of his bag, and of course he had missed his mother and Josh… but that was about it. He didn’t miss the house, or sharing a bed with Josh, or his always angry father.

He didn’t miss the arguments that broke out over every meal, the empty bottles of scotch and dirty glasses left all around the living room and kitchen every morning, or the silence that even little Mac was afraid to break.

Gerry shook his head sadly at the three of them and got out of the car, circling to the passenger’s door to pull Jensen’s bag off of the top of the pile. “Come on guys, Jensen’s train is waiting.”

Jared slipped out first, shuffling his feet beside the car while he waited for Jensen to climb out after him. When he was standing on the pavement, Jared threw his arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

“You have to promise you’re going to come next summer, okay?” the little guy pleaded against Jensen’s stomach, tiny vibrations threatening to make Jensen laugh. He probably would have if he wasn’t so upset…

“I’ll do my best, Jay, okay?” he hugged him back and then gave Jeff a hug before turning to Gerry. “Thank you for the ride.”

“You got it, kiddo. Keep in touch, yeah? You don’t need to wait until summertime to talk to us, you hear?” Jensen nodded and hugged him quickly before fishing his train ticket out of the top of his bag.

“Bye,” he waved sadly to the little family before turning around, and heading into South Station and towards his platform. As he reached the huge main doors he turned around one last time to see Jared still waving forlornly after him. He gave Jared one last wave and a small, quavering smile before disappearing into the building.

He would come back again next year, as far as Jensen’s decision was concerned, it wasn’t even a question.