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“If I could have anything I wanted for Christmas, you know what I’d ask for?”
Genevieve looks over. “What?”
“Permission to go Office Space on this goddamn stereo,” answers Jared, grimacing. Outside, the PA system is blaring “Marshmallow World.” It’s only November 20th, but he’s already heard this song 30 times, and he hates it a little more each time.
“Would you let me have a few swings?”
Jared nods. “Of course. Everyone who’s had to sit through Feliz Navidad for four years straight gets a turn.”
The song ended and the stupid Hot Chocolate song from Polar Express started up. Jared groans. “Fuck, not this one again.”
Genevieve stretches her arms out in front of her. “You wanna go check on the kids?”
Jared gets up from the backless stool. “Sure.” He tightens his scarf and walks around the corner to the corridor of ticket windows. Six of them are open, leaving six giant holes for the biting wind to blow through, and it’s doing so with great relish. It’s freezing in there, and the teenagers in the empty windows look miserable.
“Any sales yet?” asks Jared.
“Maddie had one,” says Kathryn. She’s stuck at the furthest end from the queue line, while Madison is sitting at window 5, second from the queue. “And DJ got a question about Sweet Lights.”
“When are you going to start sending people home?” asks Brock.
Jared shakes his head. “Not till seven-thirty, at least.”
The teenagers groan. “But there’s nobody here!” whines Kathryn. “Isn’t it costing more to pay us than they’re getting in sales?”
“It works out somehow,” replies Jared, although he doesn’t know how. He often wondered that very thing when he was stuck in the Front Gate office on rainy December weeknights when attendance was less than 1,500.
“I don’t see how,” grumbles Kathryn.
“Well, if you wanna play games or something, just stay in your windows,” suggests Jared. “No phones, no ignoring customers.”
“We know,” insists Maddie.
Jared returns to the back room and sits down next to Gen. With no bags to count or customers generating sales, they really have fuck-all to do. Then Jared remembers what he wanted to talk to Gen about. “So, I have this idea that I wanted to get your feedback on.”
Gen raises an eyebrow. “What kind of idea?”
Jared grins. “A wedding idea.”
Gen’s face brightens. “Great! Tell me.”
“Well, it’s…unusual,” Jared begins. “And I’m pretty sure you’re gonna hate it, but it’s totally cute and totally us—”
“Jared!” Gen glares at him. “Spit it out.”
“I was thinking about a surprise wedding,” replies Jared.
Gen’s eyes widen. “That’s not even a thing.”
“I’ll make it a thing!” Jared gestures with his hands. “I want to blindfold Jensen and bring him here, and we’ll get on Fahrenheit, and we’ll do our vows at the station and as soon as we say ‘I do,’ the operator will hit the button.”
Gen scoffs. “That’s possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Jared’s face falls. “Really?”
“It’s totally you, though, you’re right,” she goes on. “Jensen, though, I’m not so sure.”
“We met here,” explains Jared. “Our first date was here. He’ll appreciate it. I’m sure he will.”
“Well, you know him best,” replies Gen. “But I might get some other opinions before you start making arrangements.”
“Who do you suggest?”
“Well, Alaina and Emily are coming in later,” says Gen. “And I’d email Felicia and Briana, and maybe Kim too.”
“Kim would kill me for even thinking about it,” complains Jared.
Gen chuckled. “Yeah, but I’d love to hear what she would call you.”
Jared has to smile at that. “You don’t think I should get any male opinions?”
“Rich and Matt and Mark are all straight,” says Gen. “They’re gonna think it’s a great idea.”
“So that’s three yes votes and one no, so far.” Jared grins. “You will come, won’t you?”
Gen nudges his shoulder with her own. “Of course I’ll come. Why wouldn’t I want to see you and your sickeningly beautiful fiancé be all schmoopy over each other?”
Jared glares at her. “We are not ‘schmoopy’.”
“Yeah, you are,” calls Kathryn. “You’re ridiculous.”
“She’s right, bro,” adds Colin. “I never knew what ‘heart eyes’ were until I saw you two.”
“Y’all just jealous,” says Jared, but he’s smiling. “Hey, work here long enough, you might end up with a Prince or Princess Charming of your own.”
The phone rings. Since Gen’s closer, she grabs it. “Ticketing, Genevieve.” She listens for a minute, then holds it out. “It’s for you.”
Jared stands up and grabs the receiver. “This is Jared,” he says.
“Hey, Jared, it’s Jeff.”
Jared frowns. “What’s up?”
“Jensen’s sick. Sheppard sent him down to First Aid. You might as well go collect him.”
“Yeah, okay,” replies Jared. “I gotta call—” He struggles to remember who the GS manager is. “Uh, I’ll call Rich. They’re gonna send him home?”
“They’d be idiots not to,” says Jeff. “He looked terrible. I think he’s got that bug that’s going around.”
Jared sighs. It’s a nasty bug. Felicia was out for a week with it, and nearly had to go to the ER a couple times. “Okay. Thanks for calling me.”
“No problem. Take care of him.”
Jared grins. “You know I will.”
He can practically hear Jeff smiling over the phone. “Yeah, I do. Talk to you later.”
Jared hangs up the phone and picks up the radio. “Jared to 94.”
He’s relieved when Rich’s voice comes over the radio. He’s the most easygoing of the GS managers. “94, go ahead.”
“Can you call me at 3834?”
“10-4.” Jared sets the radio back down.
A minute later, the phone rings. Jared picks it up and explains the situation. Luckily, Rich gives him permission to leave. “Thanks, Rich. I owe you one.”
Jared puts on his red Candylane parka and heads up to First Aid. When he gets there, he talks to the tech at the desk, who tells him that Jensen’s with the nurse and he can head back and talk to her. Jared goes into the main exam area and finds Jensen curled up on a cot in the back. His eyes brighten briefly when he notices Jared, but he still looks miserable. He’s so pale that his freckles stand out like Dalmatian spots, and he’s clutching a basin. The nurse is doing something with an iPad, and there’s a needle kit and vial of clear liquid on the table next to her.
Jared sits down at the end of the cot next to Jensen. “Hey, baby,” he says quietly.
“Hey,” croaks Jensen. He sounds as bad as he looks.
The nurse sets down the iPad and preps the syringe. “I’m giving him a dose of Phenergan,” she tells Jared. “It’s an anti-emetic, and it’s also a bit of a sedative. It should get him through most of the night.”
Jared nods. “Thank you.” He places a hand on Jensen’s knee and squeezes when the nurse presses the needle into his arm. His sweatshirt and parka are piled on the floor next to the cot, and Jared moves to help him get them back on.
“Hey, can I bring my car around to the back door?” asks Jared.
She nods. “There’s no one else back there, so yeah, go ahead and get it. We’ll be waiting for you.”
Jared pats Jensen’s knee. “I’ll be right back, and then we’ll get you home to bed.”
Jensen just nods weakly. Jared jogs off to get his car from the lot in front of the service center and pulls it up to the ambulance door of First Aid. The nurse helps Jensen into the front seat of Jared’s CR-V, and Jared is grateful that she’s letting him keep the basin. Jared rubs Jensen’s shoulder and pulls the seatbelt down to buckle him in. “I’ll go slow,” he promises.
It’s only a fifteen-minute drive to their townhouse, but Jensen is already asleep when they get back. Jared puts the SUV in the garage and shakes Jensen awake. “Hey, baby, we’re home. Come on upstairs.” He slides one arm under Jensen’s shoulders and half-drags, half-carries him up the stairs to the main floor of the house.
He decides that another flight of stairs is too much, so he deposits Jensen on the couch and strips off his clothes and shoes. He throws a fleece blanket over Jensen until he can run upstairs and get Jensen his flannel pajamas. Jensen’s dead to the world, which is probably good; he’s going to be miserable enough tomorrow.
Jared takes Jensen’s uniform upstairs and puts half in the laundry and half in the closet. He grabs Jensen’s pajamas and a pillow and takes them downstairs. Jensen stirs when Jared pulls off the blanket and Jared smiles softly. “Let’s get your pajamas on,” he murmurs, and with a tiny bit of cooperation Jared gets Jensen into his pants and buttons up his shirt. He returns the blanket and Jensen drops back into sound slumber.
Since Jensen’s completely out, Jared changes out of his work clothes (they’re his own, but he doesn’t choose to wear khakis or collared shirts when he’s not at work) and heads down the hill to the convenience store. He picks up a few bottles of ginger ale, a box of crackers, and a cup of Jello cubes.
When he gets back, Jensen’s still right where Jared left him. Jared puts away the groceries and opens one of the sodas to let it go flat. He doesn’t want to sleep upstairs, though, in case Jensen wakes up and needs him, so he goes upstairs and changes into his own sleep clothes and takes the other pillow and the quilt downstairs. He puts the pillow down on the recliner, sits down, and pulls the lever. Then he arranges the quilt over him and settles in for the night. It’s not exactly comfortable, but that’s not what this is about. This is about being there for his soon-to-be-husband, in sickness and in health.