Nanny, Sister, Daughter...Family

24 Hours Earlier (Part 2)

A/N: Anyone remember this story? I finally wrote the next chapter, it's only been almost a year...oops. Thanks for checking back in. Please read the A/N at the end before you go off on me for anything.

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Jensen looked around, anxious for the last call of the day. There was a chance they would get done well before nightfall today, a rare occurrence. He wanted to call his wife, maybe FaceTime the kids if they were all home. The shrill ringing of a bell following a shout of "that's a wrap" was music to his ears. He grabbed his phone and started off towards his trailer, attempting to unlock it, without looking, as he walked. The buzzing device prevented him from completing his task and prompted him to look down to see a beautiful picture of his wife staring back. Woman's a freakin mind-reader, I swear.

"Hey, babe! We just finished our scene; perfect timing! What's up?"

"Jay? Um, there's uh."

Jensen was instantly on alert, there was just something off about her voice. "Honey, are you hurt? Is it the kids?"

"No, I'm fine. The little ones are fine."

He heard her take a deep breath and he did the same. What's going on that's got her all worked up like this if it's not the kids?

"It's (Y/N). You need to come home; she's been in an accident."

Jensen felt his world shift and slam to a stop. "Ok. I'm on the next flight out. Is she ok?"

"I don't...Jay, I don't know! The hospital called me an hour ago, said I had to come in because she was in an accident, but that's all they would say on the phone. Then I get here and all they can tell me is she's in surgery, a–"

"You've known about this for an hour and you are just now calling me?! Seriously, Dee?!"

"Hey, back off! I found out 10 minutes ago that she was in surgery - emergency surgery. All they will tell me is she's stable and the doctor will talk to me when he's done operating."

He heard her take a gasping breath and a sniffle. He hated when she cried; he hated it even more when he wasn't there to comfort her.

"Jay, I can't lose her; I can't lose one of my babies!" her tears were clear in her shaking voice.

"Ok, ok. Breathe; Dani, you gotta breathe. I'm sorry I snapped at you; I'm scared and I'm worried, but that's no excuse. I'm grabbing my passport and getting a ride to the airport. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll call you during my layover and we'll check in then, ok?"

"Mm-hm."

"I love you, baby. I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Ok. Be safe. And if I call, you better answer; I don't need to be worrying about you on top of this mess. Love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

"Bye."

Jensen's mind was both running a mile a minute and trudging through quicksand. His body maintained essential functions and thank goodness for that, having to voluntarily breathe and circulate blood through his body probably wouldn't happen otherwise; the emotional stress was taxing his system but the adrenaline spike triggered by fear was preventing him from feeling it. He wasn't even aware of his surroundings at this point.

He couldn't hear anyone talking to him, didn't even register it when someone put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey man, you want to–"

Jensen felt his knees give out on him, as everything piqued and sent him crashing down. Fortunately, Jared was a strong dude and caught him before he could fall on to the hard, rough asphalt.

"Woah! What's wrong? Dude, are you ok? Jay! Talk to me, brother!" Jared tried, unsuccessfully, to quell his panic. A quick glance at Jensen's face told Jared there was a serious problem; the ghostly pale of his best friend's complexion was a stark contrast to his freckles and cause for concern.

It took Jensen several tries before he could find his voice, his throat felt strangled and dry from Dee's news. "Dani just called. We don't know much right now, but (Y/N) was in an accident. I, I uh, I need to go."

"(Y/N) your nanny for the last two years, (Y/N)? My oldest niece, (Y/N)?" Jared clarified.

"Basically, my oldest kid (Y/N)! Yes!" Jensen's panic started to bleed through his voice, despite his efforts to control his emotions. Regardless of his successful career as an actor, it was a lot harder, sometimes almost impossible, to maintain the facade of calm and collected, when there was no script to follow.

Jared's voice broke through Jensen's spiralling thoughts, "Ok, I'll call Clif to take us to the airport. We're taking the next flight out of here."

"Jare, you don't-"

"Don't argue with me about this. She's my niece, my family. Of course, I'm going. Besides, with the way you look right now, I don't trust you to make your connection; you'd probably wind up in Dallas instead of Austin." Jared's attempt at a joke fell on deaf ears; Jensen's mind was too focused on other things to react.

Three hurried phone calls to Clif, the director, and the producer, two trailer runs for each of their passports, and one forced snack to ensure neither of them passed out from low blood sugar later, Jensen and Jared were on their way to the airport in the back of Clif's black SUV. Jared called the airline they typically traveled with on the way and was able to secure two tickets to Austin, cost and comfort were far from a priority this time; all they cared about was getting there, preferably sooner rather than later.

With their lack of luggage, ticketing, boarding, and the layover were relatively stress free. Unfortunately, though, this meant Jensen had ample time to stress over his family instead. He had half a mind to ask Jared if he had anything that would help calm him down, but decided against it. If Jared did have something, it was a prescription and Jensen had learned long ago not to try other people's 'scripts; you never know what can happen. If Jared didn't have anything, Jensen didn't want him to feel guilty about it, and his puppy of a best friend would think it was his fault for not being prepared for a crazy emergency. So, no drugs.

He called Dani on his layover like he promised, which did nothing to calm his nerves since she had no update for him. Jared called Gen to let her know they were on their way home and asked if she could meet them at the airport. She promised she would be there, all six kids in tow.

Jensen stayed near Jared the whole time, and they managed to stay unrecognized almost the whole trip. Jared very politely turned away a couple fans that recognized them in the airport and they seemed to understand. Gen met them outside in the pickup line and proceeded to navigate the Austin traffic with practiced ease. At last, they arrived at the hospital to find Dani looking as though her world was falling apart.

Jensen rushed forward and swept her into a hug. "Honey, what-" he swallowed his fears and asked, "Is she ok?"

His wife gazed deep into his eyes, tears gathering along her waterline. She offered a small smile. "She's ok, I guess. You just missed the doctor. The surgery went well, she's about to be transferred to a room and then we can see her. He said-" She choked on a sob. "They had to amputate her leg, Jay."

He held his wife in a tight embrace as he felt his whole world shake. Whether it was from her sobs or his, he didn't know.

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A/N 2: Yes, some of the dialogue may be familiar; this is intentional. Additionally, the prescriptions I mention are only in reference to anti-anxiety medications that a medical professional would prescribe. I am NOT implying either of the J's are taking anything that they shouldn't be.