When Love Takes You In

Author's Notes: This may not be the most interesting or dramatic chapter... but it's the last chapter... it was hard to write... not because of any drama or anything, but... it was my baby. I nurtured it and let it grow... and now it's leaving me to be on it's own. sniffle.

Do not worry... there is a sequel in the works. I'm already writing chapter three of the sequel in my notebook. I just still have to find and decide on a title for it... as soon as I do that, I'll be posting the sequel. I have so many more ideas for this little alternate universe... more than I can fit in one or two stories... so this might end up being an actual series. Yay.

Chapter Sixteen

The next day after unpacking all their belongings, Ennis and Jack decided they needed to buy groceries and other needed household items. They took the truck out and drove around to get a feel for Warrens... there wasn't much to get a feel for. The main street consists of only a few building; a gas station, the bank, the post office, and a church. They found out from the gas station attendant that everyone usually drove into Tomah for anything and everything, so they paid for their gas and went into town.

"While we're in town, do you want to find Junior's house? I remember the address." Jack suggested. Ennis was always amazed at the way Jack could remember numbers like that, though it really helped to remember addresses and phone numbers.

"Yeah, s'pose we should do that. Get to know the area an' all." Ennis nodded.

First they found a corner story called DJ's Jack and Jill, thought they soon learned that everyone just called it "DJ's". The cashier told them where they could find the address they were searching for. 705 King Avenue. "Left out of the parking lot, straight down the hill and take the first left you see."

"Thank ya, ma'am." Jack tipped his hat to her politely. They found the house easily. The second house on the street. It was small, about the size of a double wide trailer, but it was well kept and connected to a large park with a creek running through.

"It's weird." Ennis said, walking behind the house to look at the park.

"What? The house?" Jack asked as he followed, pulling his coat tighter as a small breeze blew in.

"Naw... just not seein' any mountains or nothin'." Ennis shrugged, hands shoved into his jacket.

"But there's the hills and that nice little wooded area down yonder." Jack pointed out behind the creek. "You'll get used to it."

"Yeah. Didn't say it was bad... just strange."

"Well, we better go before the neighbors start to wonderin' why we're out prowling around the house." Jack said, moving to go back to the truck. Ennis followed him and they drove back home to Warrens.

It was 5:00 am and Ennis couldn't sleep any longer. The rest of the week had passed so quickly and today Junior and Kurt were finally moving into their new home without any knowledge of Ennis and Jack's move. They planned to surprise the newlyweds by just popping over for a visit.

Ennis turned onto his side, careful not to disturb Jack who's arm was lying over Ennis's body. In his sleep, Jack looked just as he did when they first met. His face was relaxed and peaceful, worry lines from years passed were all but invisible. The only difference was the long scar that ran down the side of his face, a reminder of the final tragedy that brought them together for good.

Ennis tentatively reached out a hand and ran his fingers lightly over the scar. Then he moved a stray hair away from Jack's eyes. He hadn't noticed until now how much Jack's hair had grown in the last few months. He liked the shaggy look that it gave Jack.

He smiled when a thought struck him. He'd have this to look at every morning for the rest of his life.

"Love you, Rodeo." He whispered. He took Jack's arm that was on him, kissed Jack's hand and layed it gently on the mattress before he pushed himself up and out of bed.

He showered and got himself ready for the day, then he put on a pot of coffee. As he waited for Jack to wake up, he decided to pull out the bacon and eggs. He figured he'd have breakfast ready when Jack woke up.

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait too long as the smell of food and coffee wafted up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Mmm... smells good." Jack came up behind Ennis at the stove and wrapped his arms around Ennis's waist.

"Mornin'" Ennis turned his face and kissed Jack lightly on the cheek. He turned back to the pan of eggs on the stove top.

"Bacon's already done. Coffee's on." Ennis said, gesturing with a spatula to a pile of bacon sitting on some paper towels to absorb some of the grease.

"Jesus, Ennis... you cook the whole package?" Jack asked, seeing the size of the pile. Ennis shrugged.

"It was there."

"That's a whole pound!" Jack started laughing. Ennis slid the eggs onto two plates and handed one to Jack. They each grabbed as much bacon as they could stand so it wouldn't go to waste and poured cups of coffee before going to sit at the table.

"Junior's comin' today." Jack mentioned, well aware that Ennis already knew and had probably been thinking on it all morning.

"Yup." Ennis nodded, a smile fought it's way onto the usually stoic face, "'round noon's what Francine said they estimated."

"I been thinking of taking a walk through the wooded area near the front of the house... see if there's any good trails out there. Weather's s'posed to be nice today." Jack said, thinking Ennis would need something to keep him busy while counting down the hours until they could surprise Junior and Kurt.

"Sound's good. Maybe once we get this place up and running and turn a profit, we could build a small stable an' get us some new horses. We could talk to that family breedin' Arabian horses up the road."

The conversation continued until they finished their breakfast and put the leftover bacon in the fridge. By the time they finished, the morning light was just beginning to peek over the hills and trees, so they went out on their walk.

"There should be markers when we reach the end of our property, so we know how far it reaches." Jack informed Ennis as he pushed a bare branch out of their way.

"Hmm... too bad the girls are older now... coulda made a nice tree house or somethin' out here."

"Bobby used to have one. I wanted to build it for him, but damn L.D. insisted on buying a ready made one and payin' some dumb fuck to put it up."

"Fuckin' L.D. Newsome..." Ennis muttered with a wry smile. That bastard had given Jack shit right up until his death and had torn Jack's son right from him. Ennis hated to think of all the pain and burdens L.D. had placed on Jack's shoulders, and wished he'd smartened up sooner to take Jack away from all of it. But at least they had each other now, and Ennis intended never to let Jack go or let him be degraded or hurt ever again.

Ennis needed at that moment to reassure himself of Jack's presence and hurried to catch up with him. He reached for Jack's hand and grasped it tightly in his own, walking in step with Jack.

Jack looked over at him, surprised by the casual affection. There were always hugs, kisses and caresses in their own home... but never anything so small and simple as holding hands while walking together. Ennis tried not to notice Jack's surprise and kept on as if noting out of the ordinary had happened. Jack squeezed his hand in a caring gesture and smiled.

After walking for about half an hour, Jack stopped.

"What?" Ennis asked.

"This is beautiful... right here." Jack said, turning in a circle. Ennis looked around. It was a clear space right in the middle of nowhere.

"Sure is." Ennis agreed.

"This would be a good place for a permanent campfire set up. Put out some log benches and stuff... great for summer." Jack could picture it all and as he talked excitedly of his plans, Ennis stood back and cherished him. He hoped the child in Jack never faded away.

Finally, the afternoon had come and Ennis and Jack pulled into the driveway of Junior and Kurt's home. They walked up to the door and rang the bell. When Junior opened the door, Jack stepped forward before she could say anything.

"Excuse me miss, could be bother ya for a cup of sugar?" He asked jokingly.

"Daddy! Jack! What are you doing all the way from home?" She asked, pulling each into a hug. Kurt heard the yell and came to see what was up. He stood behind Junior and watched with amusement at his new wife's excitement.

"Well, it ain't that far from home, is it Ennis?" Jack smiled.

"Nope... maybe fifteen minutes at most." Ennis agreed.

"What?" Junior was confused now and Kurt ushered them all in and out of the harsh winter weather.

"Well, this is a nice place ya got here, darlin'. Just perfect for you an' Kurt." Ennis complimented, looking around.

"Don't change the subject, Daddy! What do you mean fifteen minutes?"

"Well, we only live right up in Warrens." Ennis said as if he'd always been there. Junior's cry of happiness made his heart warm.

"You guys moved up here? Who all knew? Did you know, Kurt?"

"No, swear I didn't." He held up his hands in defense.

"Nobody knew. We only told Francine. Thought it'd be a nice surprise." Jack explained.

"I can't believe it. I was so worried and nervous about leavin' everyone behind and now.." Junior stopped, too choked up to say anything further. Kurt rescued her by speaking up.

"Why don't we take you on a small tour of the house?" He suggested. Ennis and Jack nodded.

"Well, this here's the livin' room... back through here..." He walked, "... is the kitchen slash dinin' room. Alma here's already got patterns and decorations picked out." Kurt shrugged. He took them down the hall to the right. "Bathroom's right there if'n ya need. Closet... closet... and there's three rooms. Back on is ours and the other two.. I think she wants one to be a guest room fer now. The other one we'll save for when we... ya know... someday have a little one or two." Kurt ducked his head, refusing to look at Ennis when he mentioned having children.

"Sounds like ya got it all planned out. It's a fine home, Kurt." Ennis patted Kurt on the back.

Ennis and Jack were invited to stay for coffee and a late lunch before Kurt and Junior had to get back to unpacking. They only let Ennis and Jack leave so soon because they knew they'd be seeing them again now that they lived nearby.

Epilogue

"I've got someone to come by next week to help us figure out how to get this place running good. But there's no real profit to be made until fall... so we'll need to scrip a little to make the bills." Ennis said that night as he changed out of his clothes and climbed into bed. Jack followed suit, wrapping his arms around Ennis comfortably.

"I like that." He said.

"Savin' to pay bills? Maybe we shoulda switched lives before." Ennis said with raised eyebrows.

"No... I like that this is real enough to worry about things like bills. This is our life, Ennis, and we're making it happen." Jack explained.

"Well, I guess when ya look at it that way..." Ennis nodded thoughtfully. He turned his head slightly, "... still seems so..."

"Surreal?"

"Yeah... still havin' a hard time believin' I'm lucky enough to be wakin' up to you each and every morning and yer the last thing I get to see each night. Sometimes I feel like I gotta hold ya to make sure yer really here with me." Ennis admitted his deep feelings.

"Ya know, I feel the same. It's amazing how fast things have changed for us. I never thought my life would ever bee whole... ever. But then it changed... when you brought me in... when love took me in."

"It took me in too, Jack. And when that happens, everything changes. Yep... when love takes you in..."

END STORY