Ok, I am sooooo sorry! I had never meant for this story to be unfinished for so long but certain things occurred in my life that needed my immediate attention and took the better part of a year to sort out. After everything calmed down, I got the biggest writer's block and no ambition to write because of everything that happened.

Chapter 17

Jensen lies on his bed for over an hour just thinking. He decides that he needs to talk to that blonde guy if he's ever going to fill in the blanks of what happened. He goes out to the main area where the other two appear to be finishing up spaghetti for dinner.

"Do either of you know that blonde guy's name?"

They look over at him and Christian answers.

"Chad Murray. He's a good guy. I've known him for several years now."

Jensen nods and looks down thinking.

"Could you get me his number? I need to talk to him. Maybe he'll be more honest about what was going on and help me remember more."

"Sure, Jen. I think that's a good idea. At least he won't be a sneaky son of a bitch about everything."

He walks over to his cell phone on the counter and pulls up the requested number. He was thankful that his phone was not actually stolen and had just been stuck with their gear from the trip. He writes the name and number on a piece of paper and hands it to the other man. Jensen gives his thanks and heads back to his room, shutting the door behind him. He stares at the name printed in Chris' neat handwriting for nearly ten minutes gathering the nerve to dial. Before he has a chance to punch in the number he is hit with such a strong sense of familiarity that he becomes dizzy with it. Suddenly he pictures the two of them in a kitchen and the conversation is so clear it's like they're talking in the present. After it passes he gives himself several more minutes to compose himself and dials the number. After three rings a male voice picks up.

"Hello?"

Jensen has to clear his throat before speaking.

"Yeah, uh, hi. Is this Chad Murray?"

There's a brief pause on the other end.

"Yes...who's this?"

"This is Jensen. I was hoping you could come to Chris' place and talk? I've been remembering more stuff about Jared and Tom and I'm hoping you'll be more...straightforward."

He hears a sigh on the other end and fears the other man is going to turn him down.

"Yeah, of course man. Look, for what it's worth I'm really sorry about what happened and that Jared's such a dipshit. I can be there in twenty minutes if that works for you?"

Jensen breathes a sigh of relief and feels himself relax some.

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks. I just...I really need to find out more."

"Alright, man. I'll be there in a bit. Make sure to tell Chris and Steve that I'm coming."

He nods as he replies.

"Yeah, I will."

They end the call and he goes back out to the kitchen where the other two are making up plates. They look up when he enters.

"Chad's coming over in about twenty minutes if that's okay?"

Steve pulls out another plate as Chris replies.

"Yeah, that's fine, Jen. At this point whatever you need to try to figure all this shit out is fine."

Jensen just nods his thanks as they sit down to eat and wait for the blonde man to appear. While they wait he tells them of his latest memory and it cements the need to speak to Chad.

When Chad arrives, he is ushered in by Steve and motioned to the kitchen where the other two men are waiting. Jensen was slow to finish his dinner because of his nervousness so Steve hands Chad a plate as well and they wait until both men finish eating. Steve speaks up first.

"Jen,do you want us to step out so you can talk?"

Chris is about to object when Jensen replies.

"Actually, I think I'd feel more comfortable if you stayed."

He quickly turns his gaze to the blonde man.

"If that's okay with you?"

Chad glances over at the glare being leveled at him by Christian before looking back at Jensen.

"Yeah, that's okay with me. Whatever you feel comfortable with. I'll answer anything I can."

Jensen looks down at the table for a moment deciding what question to start with. When he decides, he looks back up.

"What happened the night we met? Jared and me, I mean. Why didn't he want me?"

Chad sighs and thinks a minute, trying to pick his words.

"The short answer, Jared is a dumbass. The long answer is that it started with him just not thinking. He was driving us nuts at work waiting for his date with you. He wouldn't shut up about it, he was that excited. I know it was crazy at the hospital that day but I know he took a break so I don't know why he didn't reach out to you other than being preoccupied with what was going on there. I don't know why he didn't try reaching out as soon as he got off to explain and I don't know why he overreacted the way he did. I do know that when he was in college, he had the hots for Tom. I honestly think a part of the whole thing was him trying to impress Tom when they ran into each other again. Jared can be childish and selfish and I wish I had a better answer but I don't. Another thing I know, is that NONE of it was ever your fault. I know you don't remember much yet, but I hope you remember that as your memories come back, nothing that happened was your fault. Quite frankly, I'm ashamed of how he treated you and I told him so."

They sit in silence for several moments while Jensen takes it all in. Before anybody else can say anything, Chad continues.

"I just hope you can forgive me for not doing more."

Jensen frowns at him.

"You did more than some people would have. You did more than Jared even. I'm not mad at you. I'm learning that Jared had blinders on when it came to Tom. You didn't even know me and you did everything you could to help. For that I'm so grateful."

They talk for several hours trying to help Jensen piece together his broken memory. By the end of the evening he is mentally and emotionally exhausted. It's late so they pull out the couch bed for Chad to crash on and call it a night.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm going to do my best to get this finished soon and give it an ending that is accepted and liked by the readers. You guys have been invested in this too long for me to spas out and give it a quick and sloppy ending so I hope you'll bear with me and have a little more patience.
I know this is too short and I am so sorry! I ran out of ideas for this particular chapter, but I do have new ideas that will hopefully breathe new life into this fic. It would not be a smooth transition to incorporate some of the new ideas into this chapter so they will start with the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!