Hannibal? Robert the Bruce? Napoleon? All brilliant tacticians. All of whom would have turned tail and ran for the hills at the sight of Sandy on the warpath. Which was probably what Doctor Bedside Manner hoped to do as soon as her back was turned.

It was comical really, here was a doctor who made Jared look small, practically cowering under the wrath of a scowling pint-sized princess, and all Jared could really do was look around the hall and hope Jensen would just materialize out of thin air.

Instead it was Sam who suddenly appeared, rescuing the trembling medic from Sandy's ire, and earning what Jared could in good conscience only call a pout from himself.

"Wondered how long it would take you to get here." Sam said mildly. Sandy hissed, sensing animosity and snapping straight into mother hen mode. Jared hastily took hold of her arm and used the puppy eyes to convince her of the immediate need for caffeine.

With a look that promised doom, gloom, and possible evisceration should Sam even think of upsetting him, Sandy obediently went in search of coffee.

"She's a pistol." Sam grinned wryly, something close to admiration in her eyes.

Jared ignored it. "My momma taught me never to call a lady the 'b' word, so I'mma call you a cold hearted 'itch' and be done with it."

She tipped her head and directed him towards a row of red plush chairs. It had taken Jared over an hour to get in touch with Jeff and find out where Jensen was being seen. Traffic had been a bitch, and worry for Jensen had once again resulted in the total gnawing of Jared's nails. "Still mad about that, huh?"

"I'd say huh." Jared agreed waspishly.

Sam sighed wearily. "He asked me to." She admitted, unable to look Jared in the eye.

The bottom dropped out of Jared's stomach at her words. "What?" He choked, voice catching as he tried to get his head around the fact that Jensen had set him up…for that…

"He didn't do it to hurt you." She said quietly. "That was the last thing he wanted."

Jared laughed, bitter and quiet. "Yeah, well he did." God…Jensen had…no. No.

Sam nodded. "I know."

"What?" Was that it? Was an 'I know' all he deserved? "No justifications? No defending poor, sick Jensen and his twisted fucking mind games?" How could he have misjudged things so badly? He'd let a pretty smile and Jensen's injured kitten like adorableness blind him to the fact that he had been played like a fucking cello.

"Look, he's not perfect." Sam shook her head. "In fact he's a bit of an ass. I live with him, I know. But he is terrified of losing you, of losing David."

Jared lurched to his feet. "He could have just kicked me in the balls. Would have hurt less." He ranted, sneakers squeaking against the linoleum as he kicked at the legs of the plastic chairs.

"He's not good at expressing himself, especially not with people who don't sign." Sam tried to explain, her usually dark eyes brightening with an earnest desire to make Jared understand. "Like it or not, he is still with David, and things between you weren't exactly short on sexual tension. He couldn't handle it, and he couldn't handle pushing you away himself, so he sent you a subtle reminder."

Subtle? "I've seen rampaging rhinos with more subtlety." Jared said bluntly.

One of Sam's hands closed around his and guided him back to the chairs. "The only time he has spent more than twenty minutes travelling anywhere was when he moved from Texas to LA…and yet he jumps on a train at the drop of a hat, just because he is worried about you. Now I'm not saying what he did was right, or fair, but he loves you. You go in that room and tell me different."

Jared nodded slowly. "He loves me." He agreed. "But he's not in love with me."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Sweetie, he ain't in love with Dave, either."

*****

JD was like the big brother Jared already had, and desperately tried to out prank. He, Jared and Marc were like the three stooges on set, or the three musketeers, or the three something. The fact was, Jared had counted on him for a little support, only to have that bond trumped by the cuteness that was Jensen fucking Ackles.

Apparently Jeff had known Jensen for years, longer than Sam. Jensen was to blame for getting him into acting. Jensen was to blame for making him audition for the role of John Winchester. Jensen was to blame for a lot of things it seemed…the most recent of which was Jeff's sudden desire to make a pancake out of Jared's head.

"I mean it kid, I see even a hint of distress from him, and Sam Winchester will be talking in a significantly higher voice." Jeff said mildly as he fanned out his fingers and glared at Jared over the top of his newspaper.

"Whatever you say, Daddy." Jared snorted, privately plotting a way to kill Jensen before his two White Knights could stop him.

"Don't make me take you over my knee, boy."

"Pervert."

Jared dodged a blow and darted inside Jensen's room. One of the advantages of having the cash to pay for private healthcare was undoubtedly the perks, including the en-suite room and fully stocked coffee machine outside it.

As expected, David was inside, his large frame curled up into the chair besides Jensen's bed.

Jared took one look at Jensen, and any thoughts of GBH went out the window. Evil, sneaky, manipulative, gorgeous bastard.

Jensen wasn't a small man, despite Jared's ability to carry him around like a teddy bear. Pale against the sheets, with bags under his eyes large enough to house Paris Hilton's wardrobe, and his cheeks in sharp relief, Jensen looked hollow, fragile, even, and Jared had to stamp down ruthlessly on the urge to cuddle him close and hide him away from the world.

Jensen was hooked up to a monitor, his heartbeat rhythmically beeping, soothing away the residual fear that Jared had pushed to the back of his mind. The only other equipment he could see that Jensen was attached to was an IV line. That should have been encouraging, but with Jensen looking so ill, Jared wanted to demand someone produce some magic cure and fix things.

David didn't so much as glance up when Jared entered to room. His fingers were tangled with Jensen's, his thumb stroking a gentle pattern on the back of Jensen's white palm. Instead he said, "I'm not stupid, you know."

"Never thought you were." Jared agreed quietly taking a seat on Jensen's other side.

David nodded sharply. "I know how you feel about him."

"Do you?" Of every nightmare confrontation Jared had ever dreamed up, this quiet altercation had not even entered the realm of consideration.

David shrugged, still not looking at Jared. "Can't say I blame you."

Oh…again…not what he expected. Where was the caveman head butting? Maybe David didn't know about The Plan…

"Just so you know," David continued. "I'm not giving him up without a fight."

"I know." Jared said quietly, and reached for Jensen's other hand.

A fight was what he expected.

He was okay with that.

*****

Jensen went through bags of Saline the same way Jared could pop candy. His last attack had dragged on close to twenty-three hours. Faced with a dehydrated, delirious Jensen, Sam had done the only thing she could, and called in the big guns. The EMT crew had been unable to give him any anti-nausea medication stronger than the Ephedrine/Promethazine cocktail Sam had him on, but they were able to kick start the backlash against the dangerous level of dehydration that fueled the vicious cycle of the attack.

By the time Jared had made it to the hospital, he was in day three of the recovery period, and Jared had realized with something akin to horror that Jensen must have had the attack shortly after Jared had walked in on him and David.

Jensen's ability to execute A Plan was as bad as Jared's. Obviously his not-so-subtle attempt to force Jared into making the first move and calling things off had backfired quite spectacularly.

He couldn't help it. As soon as Jensen's eyes were fluttering open, Jared couldn't find it in himself to be angry.

The owlish blink Jared got in response to his "Hey," made his heart catch, but after only a second of hesitation on Jensen's part, he was tugging his hand weakly from Jared's grasp. And from David's.

"Leave." He croaked, his voice barely carrying over the increasingly erratic beep of the monitor.

"Jen." David leaned forwards. Jensen's eyes slid closed.

"Please." He whispered again. "Leave. Leave. Leave."

There was a little voice in Jared's head screaming at him in canon with Jensen's weak whispers.

Leave…couldn't be any clearer than that now, could it?

Jensen wanted him gone.

Then David reached for Jensen's hand as it tugged at his IV. Bloodshot green eyes snapped open, and Jensen practically screamed.

"GET OUT!"

David flinched as if burned, and Jeff appeared as if summoned from the Genie's Lamp. "Out." He barked, practically propelling Jared from the room before throwing David out on top of him.

"Damnit Jeff." David yelled angrily, attracting wide-eyed stares from Sandy and Sam, who had come running onto the scene.

"You knew this might happen." Jeff said compassionately, holding out an arm that David shrugged away.

Sam's earlier words came back to haunt Jared.

"Sweetie, he ain't in love with Dave, either."

And now they had both lost him.

Read Part Thirteen Unlucky for some in the Louder Than Words 'Verse by SplashPink