Here's part 7
****After reading comments, I've added a section about Martha's reaction to Jenni being pregnant. It's fairly lengthy. For those of you who have previously read this part, the additions are in italics.
From Part 6
_____________________________________________-
The headline of the evening edition of The Daily Planet read:
A NEW HERO: WHO IS THIS SUPER MAN?
The story told of the new super man bringing a young lady to the hospital. And of course there were pictures.
In addition to the papers, Zared was on television. Everyone was talking and there was lots of excitement. Almost every staff member Zared encountered mentioned his appearance. The news media was asking - begging for an interview.
But Zared gave no interviews and made no further appearances that day or the next. He stayed at the hospital.
He would give his first interview to Clark Kent, of course.
_________________________________
Part 7
Zared had known it was inevitable that since he had now made a public appearance that he would continue to do so. He had done a very few rescues, which had always been attributed to his dad, but now with a 'uniform', such that it was, rescues would be easier. Dad *could* use some help he realized. Sitting in the intensive care waiting room, he'd had plenty of time to think about it.
The day after Jenni had been shot, Gramma Kent showed up at the hospital. He wasn't surprised to see her. After being introduced to Jenni's father, Danny, she visited with them for a few moments. Gramma Kent had, for some reason, never met Jenni. "She's beautiful. Pale. But still beautiful."
Danny smiled. Zared blushed. Danny said, "I need to run home and check on my other two kids. That will give you a chance to visit a bit." He looked at Zared with a bit of contempt. He was having trouble coming to terms with all this. Zared let his baby get hurt. "You have my comp number."
Zared's lip trembled a little. He still didn't understand why Danny hated him - well, right now, anyway. His behavior had vacillated.
Gramma said, "My, but he's a bit rude, isn't he?"
"He hates me. He thinks this is all my fault. I don't know what he's more upset over - the shooting or the pregnancy."
"She's pregnant!? *Pregnant*!"
"Ummm... I guess I thought dad told you." He fidgeted. What must gramma think? You probably haven't talked to him, though, have you?"
"Once. I talked to Dr. Klein on the phone this morning. They have been keeping him pretty doped up."
"I guess that's why we haven't talked, then. I've been aware that he's been worried about me, but that's all."
"Now, what is this about Jenni being pregnant. Zared, both of you are so young. And you *know* better. I *know* you do. I know Clark has talked to you about the importance of using protection. And he's not the only one. I talked to you about it, too, after I caught you in the barn." She smiled a little, shaking her head. She took his hand. "What are you going to do?"
"I know gramma, I know. I told dad I was stupid, but he convinced me that I wasn't, that I had just made a mistake. A *big* mistake, but a mistake. He didn't even lecture me. He just told me he knew I'd have to live with the consequences. Jenni and I want to get married, but her dad is against it. He's being quite obstinate. He hates me and he seems to think this is *all* my fault." He sadly shook his head. "And you promised not to bring the barn issue up ever again. Now *that* was really a mistake. And be quiet. *Jenni* doesn't know about that. *Dad* doesn't know about that. I wish *I* didn't know about it." He thought how embarrassed he'd been when gramma caught him and that.. other.. girl in the loft. He said softly, "You know we didn't actually... well, you know."
"Just making a point about making mistakes, honey. So. You say you didn't... you know. I'm not sure I believe that, but I won't say another word about it." She grinned and gave him a hug. "As I said, I was trying to make a point. It will be okay. I take it Jenni isn't 18 yet?"
"No, she will be in two months."
"Well, even if her dad won't allow her to get married right away, you will be able to get married then. I'm not sure that legally he can really stop it, though. Are you sure about marriage? You should not get married just because she is pregnant."
"I love her more than anything. I can't imagine her not in my life. And Jenni feels the same about me. We had already talked about marriage, but, of course, we had planned on waiting. We didn't really want to wait until we finished college, but we had talked about maybe getting married in a couple of years." His eyes shone as he spoke about Jenni. He fidgeted again. "But then we'd also planned on waiting... well, waiting. We didn't."
"Zared! She's pregnant now. Surely you can use the proper terminology now instead of saying 'well, waiting'." She grinned broadly.
"Gramma, quit making me blush! I mean, you're my gramma, for Pete's sake"
"What? You think your gramma isn't a sexual being? Why Zared, I've always been very open about sex and the human body. It's really quite beautiful, you know. I've even posed in the nude."
Zared blushed even more. "You did what!? Gramma, you're teasing me."
"Nope. I figured Clark would have told you in case you ever found the painting." She was rummaging around in her purse and finally found what she was looking for. "Here."
Zared, not realizing what she was handing him, took it out of her hand.
"It's a a mini print of the painting. It's a good likeness, isn't it." She just grinned, watching her grandson's shocked look.
He had looked at the print before he knew what it was. He looked back at his gramma. He was looking at her with his mouth open. He knew his mouth must be on the floor. "You... you.... How could... you... you... How could you show me this?" He quickly pressed the small picture back into her hands and then saw the very amused look on her face. His eyes widened and he said, "Why, Martha Kent, you're enjoying this." He blushed again and just shook his head. "And are you telling me your *son* has seen this painting? Gramma!?"
"You can't expect to be painted in the nude and not have people see the painting. And, yes, much to his chagrin, Clark has seen it. His reaction was quite similar to yours." She smiled again. "I'm just trying to make a point, Zared. We are all sexual beings, and sometimes, because of that, we don't act responsibly. If I'd had it to do over, I'm not sure I would have posed for that painting. Not because I'm embarrassed but because it upset Jonathan so much. Anyway, what I'm trying to say with all this is that everything will work out just fine." She smiled at him. "I love you, Zared, and your family loves you. It *will* work out."
"Thanks, Gramma. I love you, too."
~~~~~~~
After they finished their conversation concerning Jenni's pregnancy they spoke briefly of Clark's condition. Then Zared said, "I guess you've seen the news."
"Yes. I brought you a couple of outfits to try. One is with me. If you like them, I'll be at your house and I can whip up some more. I know this is a lot earlier than you expected to do this, but now that you have, I knew it would be difficult to not continue. But if you don't want..."
"You're right, Gramma. I've arrived, so to speak." She proceeded to tell him about the outfit. She had wanted to see him in it, but she would just have to wait. He couldn't take a chance that anyone could see him.
She grinned and winked, "I made sure no one would want to look at your face."
"Gramma..."
"Well, they don't call em'...
"I know, I know... tights for nothin'."
She had made him a sharp outfit. The top was short sleeved and bright red with the same shield his dad used. He didn't know if he would like short sleeves, but he would try it. The top attached to the pants in such a way as to make the suit look like two pieces. The pants were jet black and tight - very tight. They weren't really tights, but they were pretty close. They came down over the outside of black boots. Gramma told him she wasn't sure if that would work, but they would try it. It included a black belt. She had also made a cape which he wasn't so sure about, but gramma smiled sweetly saying that it would look wonderful flying in the wind. He agreed to wear it. The fabric was unknown to him and though was heavier than silk it seemed to move like that delicate material. Depending on the way it caught the light, you could see shades of purple, blue, red, and even a little green. It wasn't a sparkly thing, though. He wouldn't have been happy with that. The colors seemed to more 'flow'. He liked it a lot. Gramma had outdone herself. He still didn't know about a name, but he'd come up with one later.
When Zared was in the intensive care waiting room, Clark had admonished telepathically, <You are still young and you have a lot to learn. I don't want you to respond unless someone is in imminent danger of death.> Zared had agreed. Both of them knew the inevitable would come, though.
He was sitting in the hospital cafeteria musing about the suit, when his super hearing kicked in. There had been a multi-car accident on the freeway. Surely the emergency workers could take care of everything. He didn't want to leave Jenni. A semi had turned over and part of the trailer was on top of a car threatening to crush it at any moment. The man in the car was alive but badly hurt; he could hear his ragged breathing. He was torn. Stay? Or go? Jenni was stable, so he made the decision to go to the accident site. If she had not been doing so well, he didn't think he could have left her.
He arrived at the accident site to find that emergency workers were already there. They couldn't get to the man and the trailer was still threatening to crush the car. They were trying to brace the trailer but it was unlikely they could get this done quickly enough. There was a car on the other side of the trailer but no one was in it now. It was relatively unharmed. Well, that's not gonna be the case in a minute. But, then he checked quickly on the man and decided he had time to move the car first, after all. It would only take a couple of seconds. "Always try to do as little damage as you can," dad had told him. He quickly picked the car up moving it several feet away. Up til then, no one had noticed him. Had he been moving that fast? Then he righted the trailer. The car doors were still blocked so he ripped the top off the car. The man had a bunch of broken ribs. Something was wrong with his lung - collapsed, maybe. He surmised he was finally going to have to take EMS training, if not paramedic training. His dad had finally become a paramedic. Well, actually Superman had, not Clark Kent. What reason would Clark Kent have to be a paramedic? He turned his attention back to the man. No spinal injuries. Good. It wasn't easy because of the man's position, but he finally managed to pick him up and take him to the emergency workers. How did his dad seem to get them out so fast? He felt like it had taken forever to get the man out. In reality, it had taken less than a minute. The man hadn't used his seat belt. Why wouldn't people wear their seat belts? He was surprised he hadn't been ejected from the vehicle. The news media was already here. How did they get here so fast? Reporters had been responding to all emergencies hoping he would show up, but Zared was unaware of this. He noticed several people using their mini comps to record the events. He'd be all over the news. Maybe this was a mistake. Am I really ready for this? He sighed. No matter, I'm doing it.
The emergency workers took over the care of the injured man. He checked to see if anyone else was seriously hurt. One girl's arm was bleeding. She was sitting on the side of the road looking rather lost. Was she badly hurt? Had anyone even seen her? He approached her and asked if she was seriously injured. Her head was down, but then she noticed the tight pants and the flowing cape. She looked up. No! This was a girl in his class. And they knew each other. She looked from his feet up to the tight pants and stopped. Her eyes got wide. He managed to stay composed with a very stern Superman look. Then she looked up at his face.
"You're the new umm... hero. No, it looks worse than it is. Thank you." She smiled. "What's your name?"
"A friend." With that he took off, wondering what kept her from knowing who he was. She'd obviously not had a clue. Maybe there was more to hiding your identity than just glasses. Hmmm... He wondered.
His rescue of the man and his interaction with the girl from his class had been filmed by the news crews. They had been kept away from the actual scene, though, so they couldn't ask him for an interview. Just as well. He wouldn't have given them one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The news of his appearance and rescue was shown live on most of the networks. This was big news and they replayed it again and again. Jenni was again awake and the television was on. She saw him on the news and smiled groggily, and said, "Oh, look, daddy. He's on the news. Isn't he sexy?"
Danny could only think, "Here she goes again." He just smiled and shook his head.
Zared walked back into Jenni's room. "How is she?" He glanced down and realized he hadn't put a dressing back on his hand. He quickly stuck his hand in his pocket. Danny hadn't seen his hand... he hoped.
But Danny *had* noticed the lack of a bandage, though, he didn't actually see his hand. "She woke up just in time to see that guy flying around on the news. She thinks he's sexy." He stopped and thought a minute then gave Zared a sardonic smile. "Maybe Jenni will dump you for him."
Zared decided he'd had enough. Danny had made too many such comments. He just shook his head. Danny was making things very difficult. He was going to talk to him. He'd even threatened to make Jenni get an abortion against her will which was against the law.
Jenni giggled and turned to Zared. He was on the news... again. "Oooh, I like those tight pants."
Danny said, "Giddy." He shook his head.
Zared was determined and had again forgotten about the dressing. He took Danny by the hand - with the hand that had been cut and bruised coming in contact with the Kryptonite in the Mutilator's pocket - pulling him towards the small chapel that was at the end of the hall. Danny wasn't saying a thing. That's odd. Zared just shrugged.
Danny was just staring at his hand. When they were both waiting for Jenni to get out of surgery, he had seen Zared's bloodied hand. It should not be healed. No, not at all. And not even one scar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zared closed the door of the empty chapel and sat down. Danny sat down also. Zared thought that this might be easier than he had believed. "Danny, I've had enough! Until this happened you liked me. You have no reason not to now. Yes, Jenni and I made a mistake. *Both* of us." He thought about how Jenni had actually urged them on that first time. He had been willing to stop. But that wasn't any of Danny's business. "I don't know what you think happened, but it was *mutual*. Do you hear me? And do you think that I actually would have ever just 'let' Jenni get hurt. I love her more than anything in the world, and I'm going to be in her life forever. I know she told you that she feels the same about me. So. You might as well get used to it - unless of course you don't want your daughter and grandchild to be a part of your life." He harrumphed and sat back against the pew crossing his arms and looking at Danny expectantly. He thought that Danny had been *too* quiet.
During entire tirade, Danny's head was down. He'd been staring at Zared's hand trying to figure out what was going on. He didn't know all that much about the super men so didn't automatically know that fast healing could indicate Zared was Kryptonian. He *had* heard what Zared said though, and he knew Zared was right. He was being too hard on Zared. But, Jenni was his baby. His daughter. His oldest child. He could hardly stand the thoughts of her now being an adult.
He looked up at Zared. He didn't know if he could admit his feelings to Zared. He just looked at him for a minute. "Your right. But she's my baby and I don't like any of it. Not at all. I don't know if I can sanction a marriage and I sure don't want her to have a baby. But, I've been too hard on you. Jenni is ...also to blame." Then he looked at Zared sideways. He was trying to remember something Jenni had once told him. He suddenly snatched Zared's hand and held it tightly. Zared would have hurt him if he had pulled back against the tight hold. Danny looked at his hand, then looked at Zared. "What's up with your hand?"
Zared said without batting an eye, "New treatment from Star Labs."
"Uh huh," shaking his head no, "you haven't been to Star Labs."
"I saw Dr. Bernard Klein - here." He just steadily looked at Danny.
Danny said incredulously, "You know Dr. Bernard Klein? And he came to see you here?" He was finding it hard to believe that Zared could possibly know the famous scientist and physician.
Zared nodded. "Yeah, ...close family friend."
"Friend? You actually know Dr. Klein?"
"Yeah. Why's that so surprising?"
"Oh, I've read some of his genetics articles. He's a brilliant man."
"Yes, he is."
"That must be some treatment. When will we hear more of it?"
Zared shrugged. "You never know about Bernie. He tends to get interested in other things and may not even remember it."
Danny was skeptical but thought he'd let the subject drop for now. He sighed, "Even though I can hardly stand the thoughts of Jenni not being at home, I've told her that if she broke certain rules, she would not be allowed to live in my house. Getting pregnant broke one of those rules. I'll have her things packed and ready for you to pick up after she is discharged. When she is better she can come by and see if I missed anything. After that, at least for the most part, neither of you will be welcome in my home."
"You'd actually do that do your daughter?" Zared was shocked.
"Yes, I would, and I will. Jenni doesn't need to know about this until she's ready to be discharged, though. Now come along, we've been away from her for too long."
Danny was a bit less nasty after that but was still not happy. Mostly he was just very quiet. He made fewer appearances at Jenni's bedside. Zared felt disbelief at his actions but said nothing to Jenni. Danny could only hope Danny would change his mind.
More coming soon...
