Jensen swore that Jamie was a talkative little girl, but she was absolutely silent around Cougar, hiding behind her mother or her uncle every time he looked at her.
"Maybe she's pretending to be you," Jensen joked, even as she peeked out from behind Jensen's legs, then hid again when Cougar looked down and tipped his hat at her.
Cougar smiled at that, but wondered why she hid from him.
She got a bit more friendly over the next few days, chatting about school, and her friends, and the neighbor's dog, but when Cougar would ask her a question directly, she'd blush and duck her head and answer the ground instead of him.
It wasn't that she was shy, because she happily chattered away at Jolene and Pooch, and even got Aisha into a conversation about soccer, but when Cougar would ask her about anything, it was back to being quiet and monosyllabic.
He didn't realize why until a week later, when, one early morning, she burst in on them sleeping. "Uncle Jake!" she yelled "It's time to wake up!"
Cougar jolted awake, unconsciously reaching for the firearm that, thankfully, wasn't on the bedside table. Jensen woke up as well, just in time to see her burst into tears and run out of the room.
"Aw hell..." Jensen grumbled, reaching for the t-shirt and boxers on the floor next to the bed.
Cougar looked at his hand, still reaching for the non-existent gun. "Did I—"
Jensen shook his head. "No, no, I think she just didn't realize we were sleeping together." He patted Cougar's shoulder. "Relax, Cougs. I'll go talk to her." He climbed out of bed and padded to the door.
Cougar sat there for another minute, trying to control his breathing, then, slowly, put on his own clothing.
He quietly walked to the door, then listened for Jensen's voice. He walked towards the kitchen, and stood outside, out of sight.
"So Mister Cougar and I are like your friend Sarah's mommies. But we're guys." Jensen's voice was calm and soothing. "Do you understand?"
"Yeah..." Jamie's voice was high-pitched and sniffly.
"We didn't upset you?"
"No..."
"Did we scare you?"
"Kinda..."
"I'm sorry, sweetie... Would a hug help?"
"Yeah..."
There was a moment's silence, then Jamie spoke up again. "Are you and Mister Cougar gonna get married?"
There was a long pause before Jensen answered. "I don't know. It depends on a lot of things."
"Can Mister Cougar and I get married?"
Jensen coughed, like he was holding back a laugh. "You're a little young for that, aren't you?"
"Can we get married when I'm older?"
Jensen's cough grew more pronounced. "Um...if he's not married, and you still want to, when you're older, then, yes, you can ask him. But it's his decision, okay?"
"'Kay..." There was another pause. "Mister Cougar's really nice..."
Jensen chuckled. "Yes. Yes he is."
This The Losers story was written by Kate Bolin. If you liked it, there's plenty more at http://www.dymphna.net/fanfic/. And you can feedback her at dymphna@dymphna.net.