Hi All,
I'm sorry this has taken me so long to post, but I've been a bit snowed under with RL problems. However, I have reached the end and I hope that some of you will still be interested to read the concluding chapter.
Yours Jenni
Previously in Xmas Tale Part 14:
"Okay, what have you guys been up to?"
"And what have you got there?" Lois added her own question.
"We bought Christmas presents for Ben and his friends." Joel was the first to speak up, lifting up his bag to show off his loot.
"We didn't think they'd have any families to remember them at Christmas," Julian took up the explanation, "and we didn't want them to be forgotten.... So we thought we could be their families this year."
"That wasn't wrong of us, Mom, Dad?" Joel asked, a little unsure of himself since his parents weren't answering immediately.
Clark was swallowing a lump that was forming in his throat, and Lois was unsuccessfully fighting to hold back the tears that were pooling in her eyes. Sometimes their kids could be brats but, when you least expected it, they could be... angels.
"No," Lois whispered, finding her voice. "No, that definitely wasn't wrong."
"It was good! Really good!" Clark's million dollar smile was threatening to crease his eyes shut... or maybe he just couldn't see his kids for sappy tears.
The kids rushed over to their parents and another few minutes were spent in hugs. This Christmas day was in danger of becoming truly mushy, and Joel thought that he better take things in hand when he was on the receiving end of another kiss from his mother. A guy could only stand so much of the kissy stuff. He pushed back and looked from one parent to the other.
"So you think we did good?" he asked gruffly, trying to disguise the wobble in his voice.
"Oh, yes," Lois affirmed proudly. "So what do you say -- should we go play Santa?"
*****
Part 15
The family spent a couple of pleasant hours delivering their gifts to the injured children from the refuge centre. Most of the kids were doing well and were now in general wards, so it was easy to distribute the presents to them. And seeing their faces light up at the unexpected surprises certainly proved the old adage 'that it was better to give than to receive' to the Kent children -- or 'it was as good as'. It seemed that everyone was enjoying the Christmas spirit.
Halfway through the visit, Clark managed to fade into the background and reappear as Superman, which thrilled the homeless kids even more. They knew that it was largely due to his actions that they'd made it out of the building, if not safely, then at least alive, and they were excited that the hero had come to see them. The Man of Steel spent some time answering their eager questions. After which, while his children were still entertaining the others with the gifts, he snuck off to visit Ben.
Superman was pleased to see that Nurse Kominski was with the boy, though as a visitor and not as duty nurse, and that the patient was looking a whole lot better.
He was even happier to learn that Nancy Kominski -- she asked him to call her that -- had already approached the Children's Protection Service to see if she could offer Ben a home once he was discharged from hospital and the official procedure had already been set in motion. It seemed likely that Ben had at last found a safe haven, assuming that the justice service would be satisfied with a non-custodial sentence for his crime of arson. Superman again assured the pair that he'd willingly put in a good word for Ben and stayed chatting until he heard his family approaching. The hero made his apologies and left, quickly joining Lois and his kids as Clark and filing into Ben's ward.
Here things got a little more difficult though, as the requirements of the Burns Unit allowed for fewer visitors. However, the nursing staff permitted all the family to stay for a short time while they handed over Ben's gift.
The teenager got a little tearful for a few minutes, while Nancy helped him with the wrapping paper. His hands were still bandaged and weren't exactly co-operating with his brain. It had been so long since he'd received anything other than charity handouts and they'd mostly been secondhand goods. Yet, this year, there had been presents from the hospital and a few of the nursing staff. Nancy had bought a new set of sweats for him to wear when he left this place, and now here was the Kent family with another gift. It was all pretty overwhelming.
The irony that he'd committed a crime for all these good things to happen to him wasn't lost on Ben, and he considered it very lucky that he wasn't languishing in Juvenile Hall. Of course, that might yet happen, and it would be what he deserved, but at least he wouldn't be facing his punishment alone. The fact that he'd almost lost his life, that physically he'd suffered greatly and probably would for a long time to come, seemed like a fair price to pay for the attention and care of his new friends. Life surely did work in mysterious ways.
Heedful of the department's rules, Lois and Clark soon took Nathan off, leaving Joel, Julian and Clara to show Ben how to work the latest games-machine they'd given him, while Nancy supervised. The couple found a coffee machine and poured themselves a drink. On their way to the waiting room, they turned Nathan loose in the department's play-area, a brightly coloured room with climbing frames, numerous toys and books where parents could safely leave their younger children under the watchful eye of a nurses' aid. A number of other kids were having lots of fun there while their families visited relatives, and Nathan was happy to join in. Clearly Christmas Day was a busy one at Metropolis General Hospital.
Truthfully, the couple were feeling conflicted. It wasn't so long ago that they'd sat in a similar family room of this hospital and prayed that Joel and Clara would be spared to them. It gave them an uneasy feeling to be back so soon and both their hearts went out to a lonely woman who was wandering aimlessly, backwards and forwards along the corridor.
Finally, she came into the little room and sat in a chair by the window, staring out into space... probably unseeingly. Lois knew well how the stranger felt, and she'd just made up her mind to speak when the woman stood abruptly to leave the room.
"Please," Lois interrupted quickly, "I hope you don't mind me talking to you, but perhaps you'd like my husband to get you some coffee?"
Halting in her motion towards the door, the woman turned to Lois. "Pardon?"
Lois was struck by the haunted gaze of the woman. It seemed a fair assumption from her expression that a relative must have been badly injured, and very recently too. Which was surprising, since Superman had mentioned earlier to Lois that 'rescue-wise' it had been a very peaceful twenty-four hours. Could Clark have missed something?
"I asked if you'd like my husband to fetch you a cup of something to drink. Contrary to expectation, the coffee from the machine is very good."
"Oh, I couldn't trouble you...."
Clark offered the woman one of his warm smiles. "It's really no trouble. How do you like it?"
Like many members of the female population, the stranger wasn't immune to Clark's friendly attitude and she quietly replied. "Cream... no sugar."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Clark left quickly, though not at superspeed.
"I hope you don't think I'm intruding, but I couldn't help but notice how anxious you seemed, so I'm taking it that someone close to you is very ill." The woman's glance slid away from Lois' nervously. "I've been in that situation myself very recently, and I know that it's a bad time to be on your own.... Perhaps I could contact someone for you?"
"No!" the woman replied brusquely. For a few seconds she seemed angry at Lois' infringement, then her shoulders slumped and she returned to sit in the same seat as before, resuming her contemplation of the sky.
Lois had just about decided that the woman wouldn't talk again, when the soft words reached her.
"No, there's no one.... I have no one, not now."
Had this poor lady's relative already died? Oh, how terrible that must be -- on Christmas day, when everyone else was so happy! But surely, if that were so, the caring staff of this hospital wouldn't have left this bereft woman alone. Lois' intuition was telling her that there was another cause here, and as Clark frequently pointed out, Lois' gut instincts were often correct.
"Do you have a relative here who is injured?"
"Yes!" The answer was flat.
"I'm sorry, but I have to tell you that the doctors and nurses here are wonderful. I'm sure your loved one will do fine...." Lois was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Her experience of waiting to see if Joel and Clara would get better prompted her to help, but it appeared that this lady was too withdrawn to appreciate her concern. She just wished that Clark would get back soon. He had a way of reaching people.... Yet Lois wasn't about to give in. She walked forward and sat near the woman. "Is it your husband... or maybe a child?"
The woman's head came up at that and the stricken stare she sent Lois shocked her to the core. "You have a child in the Burns Unit?" Lois asked gently.
"A son!"
Into the cauldron of emotion Clark walked; he was however, prepared. Just as Lois had guessed there was some mystery behind the stranger's pain, his senses too had sharpened. So he had felt a little justified in listening in to the conversation between his wife and the woman. He crossed to the seated lady and, bending to eye level, offered her the plastic cup. His movements were slow but steady, almost as if she were a startled fawn who was ready to bolt.
"Milk, no sugar," he said with a friendly grin.
A tiny smile of thanks turned up the corners of the woman's mouth, yet it never reached her eyes. Once the woman would have been pretty, even beautiful, Clark thought as he studied her. But now she was too thin and careworn, as if life had become too hard a task for her.
"I couldn't help but overhear when I came in that you have a son here. Is he very ill?" Clark spoke in the kindliest tone he could muster, aware that this stranger was on the verge of a breakdown. She needed help, and Clark didn't have to be in the blue suit to provide it.
Once more the woman took some time to answer, as if she had to drag up the words from the depths of her soul. "Yes... a son. I don't know how he is."
"He's just been brought in?" Lois asked, her shock and fright for the lady causing her to rush. She knew only too well how traumatic those early hours could be.
But the woman shook her head. "No! He's been here quite a while. I've... never... come before."
Lois and Clark exchanged puzzled glances. "Have you been away?" Lois pried further.
"You could say that." The woman's voice was barely audible. "I've not been a very good mother you see."
As always, Clark reached to give his comfort and his hand settled on the woman's arm. "I'm sure that's not true...."
The woman jumped up, spilling her coffee, but she hardly noticed. "You don't understand! You don't even know me!"
Clark too stood, retrieving his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the wet splashes from his sleeve and hand, but it was Lois who spoke up.
"But anyone can see that you care deeply for your son, Mrs...." Lois found herself lost for words -- not a situation she found herself in often. Yet this stranger seemed locked in a world of her own and maybe she needed more specialised help than Lois was qualified to give.
"Mrs Dailey... Claudette Dailey." She'd given them information and that was good, but it was delivered in a monotone.
"Is there a Mr Dailey?" Lois enquired, approaching the problem from a different angle. Though at the woman's unexpected shudder, Lois surmised that perhaps that hadn't been a wise choice.
"He died!" There was still no inflection in the strange woman's voice, yet her eyes reflected disgust.
"I'm sorry," A bland apology was all that Lois could offer, though Clark tried a little more, hoping for some sort of response.
"That must have been hard for you, Claudette." He used her first name, believing that the familiarity might forge a connection.
"Yeah, I thought so... but it turned out to be a lucky escape." The distraught female was back to staring out the window again, yet, when she spoke, she at last showed some emotion, even if it was deep loathing. "The monster deserved to die!"
Another perplexed looked passed between Lois and Clark. Neither were quite sure how to proceed, or even if they should. Fortunately, their new acquaintance continued to talk.
"But it was too late! It was much too late to help Ben!"
*****
tbc
