Dear Jared,
This past weekend at the Supernatural convention in New Jersey, Jensen shared with the Supernatural Family that you had been in a “very bad” car accident and that you’re “lucky to be alive.” He said air bags deployed and you “feel like you went 12 rounds with Tyson.” First of all, I thank God you are going to recover and your future is still bright, and long, and full of loving moments to explore. You will soon be back to giving piggyback rides to your children and joking around on the Walker set. You are loved by family, friends, co-workers and millions of people in your Supernatural and Walker families. Your presence brightens the world. You inspire and give of yourself selflessly. You’re one of the good guys and we want to be blessed with your loving smile for a long time to come.
Knowing you, I imagine it’s hard to be patient with the slow healing process your body needs to get you back on your feet. I also imagine you’re sneaking in work time while you’re recovering at home (even though you’re probably supposed to be taking it easy), so how about you “lay your weary head to rest” for just a few minutes and relax while reading a recent revelation about how much you mean to us?
If I’m putting the pieces of the puzzle together correctly, Walker’s episode “No Such Thing as Fair Play” aired soon before your horrible scare with the car accident. Your live tweets of the episode’s premiere on April 14 were fun and full of excitement as you commented on the progression of the Walkers’ story and the highly anticipated reunion of you and Jensen working together again. The stars aligned and Kansas was in Austin at exactly the right time to add even more to the Walker/ Supernatural crossover mementos that only the Supernatural family would understand. I was prepared for the floodgate of tears that would have flowed had Kansas been able to give the heavenly performance of “Carry On Wayward Son” that had been planned as the climactic goodbye to Sam and Dean in Supernatural’s finale. What I wasn’t prepared for was how deeply I felt Kansas’ performance and all the other Supernatural callbacks that were graciously delivered by your Walker family in this episode.
“No Such Thing as Fair Play” began with a nod to Dean’s love of bacon and Cordell’s astonishment that “Dust in the Wind” was Geri’s go-to Kansas song. Those were cute teasers. The first emotional punch, though, was the green cooler. As soon as Liam carried it into the Walker kitchen, I got choked up seeing that trusty, backseat Coleman cooler. Why would the mere sight of a prop (or a minor recurring character?) trigger an emotional response?? Then Bonham chided “what kind of heathens…?” and they pulled a Larklair Tejas beer out of the cooler, hailing all the way back to season 1 in Supernatural (clever call back detail, by the way). The boys’ faithful food carrier wasn’t a sentimental cornerstone of the show, so why did seeing it again mean so much to me? You caught me off guard with that one.
On the other hand, I suspected seeing Kansas perform “Carry On Wayward Son” would be the highlight of the episode (no insult intended to Cordell’s entourage), but I really didn’t expect the depth of emotion that scene would evoke. For a few brief moments, Kansas, “Carry On Wayward Son”, Jared and Jensen were together again on my television screen. Cordell may have been watching a concert at the Ranger Fair but you, Jared, were there listening to Kansas give life to a song that brings with it a cascade of memories. 
Standing in the band’s audience, you knew that song means family. You lived the 15 years of innumerable deaths, reunions, losses, triumphs and hard, backroad miles with us. You sang along to the words, knowing how Sam and Dean lived their lives and ended their journeys. Jensen may have been in the wings directing the action, but he was still there with you. 
He had your back and you had his while the band played those chords, reminding your Supernatural family that those brothers mean as much or more to both of you as they do to us. The episode was more than a reunion of you and Jensen; it was a veiled reunion of the two of you with your Supernatural family.
You tweeted during the episode that the last time you saw Kansas was at San Diego Comic-Con. I was lucky enough to be at that Supernatural panel in Hall H in 2017. Kansas played on stage, the Supernatural story streamed all around us, and 6000 fans sang “Carry On” in unison. It’s one of those treasured moments that’s really hard to explain to people who weren’t there but your acknowledgement of it suggests you also felt the solidarity in the room between cast and fans, fiction and reality, story and real life inspiration. On that day, you, Jensen and Misha stood in the back of that cavernous hall singing and watching Kansas with your Supernatural family – and here you were again, standing in the back of a concert singing “Carry On” as a heartfelt hug to us a year and a half after the show ended. Cordell was with his Walker family, but in that moment, Jared was with his Supernatural family. 
You brought us all together again for one minute, for one verse. I really didn’t know how much that would mean to me. You shared with us in a very real way that “you will always remember.” I've gotten teary eyed every time I've rewatched that scene. Jensen got in the act, too, with his cameo appearances and Radio Company musical interlude. You were both as happy as we were about being together again.
So, thank you Jared for allowing Walker to take time from its story to honor Supernatural. Thank you to you and Jensen for doing the work that made that acknowledgement genuine. Thank you for still loving Sam and Dean as much as we do. Thank you for not embarrassing us about what Supernatural means to us, but rather respecting, being grateful and sharing our deep love for those boys. Thank you for stepping up to produce and star in Walker instead of disappearing into the heartland of Texas after your 15 years of endlessly long days on Supernatural. Thank you for the patience you have with this volatile fandom. Thank you for dropping in to brighten the days of fans when you randomly reply to their tweets. Thank you for your inspiration and courage.
And thank you for wearing your seat belt. Thank you for allowing Jensen to tell us what happened. Thank you for tweeting that you are okay. Thank you for worrying about us when you need to focus on healing yourself. “Surely, Heaven waits for you”… but there is no need to rush things.
Have I distracted you from work long enough to get some rest? Get well soon, my friend. Since I can't bring you a get well present in person, here's a little buddy of mine that will hopefully make you smile. 
#WeLoveYouJared
- Nightsky
Please add your Get Well Wishes to Jared below!
Walker Screencaps by Raloria on LJ. Behind the Scenes pic courtesy of Walker.
