Meowoof says hi! No babies and no sex...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Part 31
Los heard a knocking on the front door. No one else seemed to have noticed. He answered it. There stood a beautiful woman with long blond hair that hung past her waist. She had the prettiest blue eyes he thought he had ever seen. After he closed his mouth, he spoke, "Hello."
"Hi." She smiled. "I'm Marisol Stuart. Is Clark Kent in?"
"Clark Kent?" He said dumbfoundedly.
She nodded. "Yes. He does live here, doesn't he?"
"Oh, yes. Clark Kent. He's my Fa... friend. Please come in." He flirted with her a little and then said, "Your hair is beautiful. Have you ever cut it?"
She flirted back and shook her head no. "Thank you."
He led her to the living room. "Sit down. I'll go find Clark."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Los showed Marisol to Clark's office. He wasn't there yet. As he turned to leave, he ran into K'al. He was very excited and grabbed Los' shirt. "Rya! Rya! Come. She... she..."
"Rya? Rya is here?"
K'al nodded. "She's... she's..."
Los took K'al by the shoulders and said, "Calm down! This isn't like you. Tell me."
K'al was breathing rapidly and he swallowed hard. "She has pain. The pain. ~Oh, you know. She is in labor!~"
Los said, "I'm sure it just a few pre-pains. She's early."
"No, no. She came from later. I mean... To her, we've been gone a fortnight."
Los' eyes widened. "Oh. Ohhh. Where is she?"
"In the room we stayed in."
"Okay, just calm down. I want you to go find Caity, okay?" He spoke comfortingly.
K'al just nodded in excitement and took off to find Caitlyn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A New Hero Part 32 Los entered Zared's bedroom where he found Lady Rya pacing and holding her back. He smiled and nodded. "~Lady Rya.~"
She bit her lip then hugged him. "~My brother by law." She again started pacing furiously. "Oh, Lord Los-El, I was hoping I'd be late to deliver the baby - not early.~"
"~Well, from what K'al told me, you aren't really early now. He said that to you we have been gone a fortnight.~" She nodded. "~That means you are only few days early.~" He said thoughtfully, "~I, too, hoped that you would go a bit longer though. Does mother know?~"
She stopped and bent forward slightly. "~Ohh...~" After a moment, she bit her lip and said, "~You mean about the pregnancy? You know she knows about that.~"
"~No. I mean, does she know how far along you are?~"
"~She didn't come right out and ask, but I think she has a pretty good idea. Your mother is no fool. She *did* tell me she was fairly sure we had had sexual relations before the Ceremony of Union. I don't think Lord K'al-El knows that though. I should have realized that she knew the possibility of a pregnancy existed when she suddenly decided we should proceed with the Ceremony of Union - especially at our age. And she went against my father's wishes. But it's not like he could really say no when she insisted.~"
"~Yes, I imagine Lord Ryax-Pe would be furious if he knew of this. I'm just glad you insisted on seeing me for your pre-Ceremony of Union exam. It could have been really bad had Healer Zor-Te found you weren't virginal."
She continued to pace, holding her back. "~I knew you would protect me and your brother at all costs.~" She stopped pacing and turned her head sideways. "~But you didn't know I was pregnant then, did you?~"
He just looked at her steadily, blushing slightly then bit his lip. "~Yes, Lady Rya. I did. Remember that your cycle was already late?~" She frowned and nodded. "~I knew you just thought it was from anxiety. You are smart. I knew you would figure it out very quickly. And you did.~"
She sat down in a chair. "~It would have been even worse if Healer Zor-Te had found out I was with child. He might have ignored the other. I'm sure it's been done before.~" She looked up. "~So you weren't able to give me the treatment that would assure that the first child born to the ruling family would be a male?~"
He took a deep breath and sighed. "~No, I was not. It doesn't always work anyway. If anyone says anything, we can chalk it up to my inexperience.~"
She hung her head. "~I doubt that would be very convincing. You are very good at what you do. Otherwise you wouldn't have been in line to be the official healer for the ruling families. Being a lord wouldn't matter. After all, Healer Zor-Te was not royalty.~" She stood up and again began walking. "~I haven't asked. I really hoped that it wouldn't matter. But you know the baby's sex, don't you? It's a girl isn't it?~"
Los swallowed hard and slowly sighed. "~I didn't want to know either. I haven't checked. We will both be surprised.~" He grinned. "~50-50 chance.~" She rolled her eyes. He shrugged. "Stop pacing and remove your under garments. I'll need to examine you.~"
"~Yes, so I assumed. I've already done so.~" She sat on the bed. "~You will wait for K'al... Mmm... Lord K'al-El?~"
He sat down beside her and felt her abdomen, checking for contractions. "~Lady Rya, K'al and I have both told you often that you do not need to always be so formal when we are not in public. I am his birth brother, after all. You can call me Los and you can call him K'al in front of me when we aren't in public.~"
"~I know. I know. It's just that mother and father were always so strict with such issues. They very much believe in the ancient ways. I believe that I only heard my mother call my father Ryax one time. I don't think I ever heard him call her anything but Lady Leima. I believe if it had been up to my father, I wouldn't even have met K'al except in formal situations until the Ceremony of Union. Mother was the only reason that we were allowed to get to know one another.~" She bit her lip and stoop up again and began pacing about the room.
"~I imagine mother had something to do with that, too. There was always something special between you and K'al, and I think mother knew that if you knew each other well that it would make a better marriage.~"
"~Yes, I think we have a good marriage, even if he does have a bit of a roving eye.~" She stopped pacing and held onto a chair. "~This hurts!~"
Los nodded in sympathy. "~K'al may appreciate the beauty of other women, but you must know that you have his heart. He has no interest in anyone but you. And he supports mother's idea of eliminating the use of concubines to 'ease tensions'.~"
"~Yes, yes, I know that K'al loves me. I so love him, also. Unhh... Los, walk with me while we await K'al.~"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
K'al found Caitlyn in the master bedroom sitting on the bed with papers spread around her. She was studying the papers and and making notes on her laptop computer. She was so intent on studying the papers that she didn't even notice K'al entering the open door. He startled her when he touched her on the shoulder. She drew in her breath sharply. "Los! You startled me!"
He bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Caity. I did not mean... to.. scare you. Oh, and I'm K'al-El. I.."
She interrupted. "Sorry."
"It's okay. It happens. Sometimes it can be useful. Umm... Rya... She has the pain." He took her hand. "Please. Come," he pleaded.
She could see that he was shaky so she immediately rose to her feet. "Rya? As in your wife, Rya?"
He nodded furiously. He was trying to be polite, but he was so worried. He took her hand. "*Please*! She is having a baby."
She followed him. "She's what? When did she get here?"
"Several hours ago." They entered Zared's old room where they found Lady Rya pacing with Los at her side.
Los looked up at Caitlyn. "Caity. Do you have examination gloves?"
She nodded. "I'll be right back."
Los guided Rya to the bed. "~Lie down, Lady Rya.~"
"~Rya. You can call me Rya.~" He nodded.
K'al looked at Los and swallowed hard. "~Los, may I sit on the bed beside her? On the other side?~" Los nodded.
Caitlyn walked back in and sat down on a chair. "I have the gloves and some lubricant."
He took the needed supplies from Caitlyn and spoke briefly to Rya. Then he proceeded to do a vaginal exam. K'al took a quick deep breath. He was a bit pale.
Caitlyn and Los both looked up. Caitlyn said, "Are you okay, K'al?"
He nodded but was clasping his hands tightly. "It's just... it's just.. a little.. umm... unnerving seeing Los do that to my wife." Caitlyn nodded in understanding. He spoke to Lady Rya and repeated the conversation in Kryptonian.
Rya moaned slightly. "~It's not the first time, K'al-El. Surely you must know that. I told you I've been seeing Los-El.~"
Los smiled and addressed Rya. "~Hmm... You are barely dilated, but your cervix is ready. We'll watch you for a while to see what happens. Okay?~"
She nodded. "~Are you telling me that this might not be the real thing?~"
Los nodded. "~Possibly. We'll just have to wait to see.~" He turned to Caitlyn and explained his findings.
She nodded in understanding. "Los, I'm curious. Do you have healers that are specialists? I mean, here, we have doctors that take care of only women type things."
He smiled. "At one time we did, and some still have special interests, but we have very few healers and the population isn't great, so we really don't have that luxury."
K'al had been comforting Rya. He looked up at Los and said, "The Thanae attacked since we have been gone. I know you didn't particularly always like him, but Healer Zor-Te was killed."
Los grew very quiet. "He taught me a lot. ~That means I am now considered official healer to the ruling families.~" His eyes were wide. "~My training isn't even quite completed.~"
"~Not so. Healer Zor-Te told mother and I that your training was essentially complete. It seems you have done quite well.~" For Caitlyn's benefit, K'al repeated what he and Los had said in English.
Caitlyn smiled, "So your training isn't strictly for a set time? I know you told me that you still had a year left."
He sighed. "Well, it's technically supposed to be, but unlike when Krypton still existed, the training is now highly individualized. Of course, we still have to pass exams to show that we are competent."
She nodded. "Ah. Yes. It's the same here. I take it you have passed that testing?"
"Yes. I have." Lady Rya moaned and he turned back to her. "~You can get back up and walk if that will help.~" She did so.
Caitlyn asked, "So Los, how many healers are there on New Krypton? For that matter what is the population?"
"With the death of Healer Zor-Te, we now have fourteen healers. We have five others currently being schooled. Two of the fourteen healers are still completing their post training. When we left the population was 20,194."
Caitlyn's eyes were wide. "That's not a lot of people or doctors."
"No, it isn't. And I still have duties of state to attend to. I can't devote full time to being a healer."
Caitlyn nodded then bit her lip. "So, Los, do we need to get her to a medical facility?"
"Well, eventually that would probably be best, but I don't think having a Kryptonian in one of your hospitals would be such a good thing."
"Well, your dad was in the hospital when he was hurt. But we can probably take her to the lab where he went after he left the hospital. I suppose if she doesn't have any problems, though, there isn't any reason why she can't deliver here."
Rya said something to K'al, and he then spoke up. "I've been telling Rya what the two of you are saying. She prefers to stay here if at all possible."
Caitlyn and Los both nodded. Los replied. "~I believe I agree with Caity. It all depends on how she does.~" He turned to Rya, "~I'll examine you again in a bit. Until then, walk or rest as you like. Let me know if you need me sooner. I'll be near.~"
She sighed in frustration. "~I bet I'm not going to be able to have anything, am I?~"
Los was perplexed. "~I don't know.~" He sighed. "Caity, she is asking about medication. Do you know if that's possible? Or if it will even work?"
Caitlyn raised both her eyebrows. "I suppose that depends on how much sunlight she's gotten. I'd suggest closing the blinds and keeping her away from the sun."
After K'al had interpreted for her, Rya snapped, "~What does sunlight have to do with anything?~"
Los looked at K'al in sympathy. "~I let you explain that, K'al.~" Los got up and walked out of the room. Caitlyn followed.
As they left, they were discussing Rya's labor and delivery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisol Stuart sat in Clark Kent's office looking around. She looked at the books and the awards and finally picked up the
The Storm. She'd had to read it in high school, and it was a very good book. She wondered if there would be a sequel.
Clark walked in and smiled broadly. He extended his hand. "Clark Kent."
She was flustered and quickly put the book down as if she had been caught doing something wrong. "Oh, I'm sorry. I.. I..."
He smiled again, putting her ease. "It's fine. The reason they are setting out is so they can be looked at."
She swallowed and bit her lip. "Will there be a sequel?" She started biting her finger nails. "Oh, I'm Marisol Stuart. Or Mari."
He nodded. "Yes, I know. And yes, I'm finishing up the sequel now. It's probably going to be called
The Calm." He motioned to a chair. "Please sit down. What can I do for you, Mari?" he said politely. He already had a pretty good idea why she was here, but she was skittish. He didn't want to push her or scare her.
She sat down and started chewing on her fingernails again. "Umm... I..." She proceeded to chew her fingernails more furiously.
He smiled. "I won't bite, Mari. Just talk to me. Would you like something to drink?" She nodded. He walked to the small refrigerator in the room and opened the door. "Let's see. I've got CocaCola, Seven-Up, water, orange Gatorade, apple juice, and grape juice." He looked up at her questioningly.
She said softly, "Coke. A coke would be good."
He handed her a bottle of Coke and said, "Your hair is really lovely, Mari. Have you never cut it?" He sat down across from her.
She pursed her lips. "No. I never really wanted to. A couple of years ago, I did think I wanted to cut it, but I found I couldn't. I'm glad now that I couldn't cut it."
He smiled. "Couldn't cut it. Hmmm..." He clasped his hands and leaned forward on his knees.
She replied nervously. "Yes. The.. umm... scissors broke." She looked at him with an unasked question. She was hoping he would know why she was here.
He closed his eyes and nodded his head. "And you wonder why?"
"I.. I.. think I kind of know why." She paused and started chewing on her fingernails again. She bit her lip and then said, "You are known to be a friend of Superman's. I know he has been recuperating, but I was hoping maybe you could set up a meeting?"
At that moment, both Mari and Clark jerked their heads up and looked towards the second floor. Clark thought, <~K'al, who is that, and why is she in distress?~>
<~Father. She is my wife, Lady Rya, and she is apparently in labor.~>
Clark's eyes got wide. <~O... kay. I'll have.. to.. talk to you about that later.~>
<~Yes, yes. That's fine.~>
Mari was watching Clark intently and when he turned his attention back to her, she said, "You are him, aren't you?"
Clark shook his head as if he hadn't heard her correctly. "What?"
"The cry from upstairs." She motioned towards the second floor. "You heard it, too."
"Oh," Clark said with realization of what she meant. He thought for a moment, not sure what to tell her. He knew who she was, knew she had been raised by a good family from Smallville, but he still wasn't sure if he could trust her. But yet, how could he lie to this girl?
While he was still deciding how to answer her, she pouted and said, "You are my father!"
For some reason, Clark hadn't expected that at *all*. He just assumed she would know the truth, but then why would she? He ran his hand through his hair. "Yes, I'm *him*. But I'm not your father."
"But you said you knew who I was. How can that be?" she said angrily.
He pursed his lips. "About two years ago, both of us were shopping at Wallmarks in Smallville. Apparently, neither of us was paying much attention, and we ran into each other. It hurt! I then realized that you were probably half Kryptonian, so I took a look at your DNA and found that to be true. Then I found out about you. It wasn't my place to say anything since I wasn't sure if you knew, but I figured that eventually you would seek me out. Since you are adopted, I wasn't sure whether your parents would know about it either."
She crossed her arms. She was angry. "They... So you are telling me that I am indeed half Kryptonian, but you aren't my father? So how come you were in Smallville?"
He felt sorry for her. Her biological father was most likely dead. He took a deep breath then said, "Yes, you are half Kryptonian. And no, I'm not your father. I was in Smallville because that's where I'm from. Well, I mean that's where I grew up. I was visiting my parents - my adoptive parents. I've been on Earth since I was a baby. You know about The New Kryptonian Crisis, right?" She nodded. "There were several rapes that occurred during that time. Your biological mother was likely one of the rape victims."
She swallowed hard. "R..r.. rape? You're telling me that I'm a product of rape?"
He responded sympathetically. "Most likely. I suppose it's possible that a human woman would have voluntarily slept with one of Nor's men, but I find it highly unlikely."
A single tear ran down her cheek. "Nor... Lord Nor. Wait! They just didn't target Smallville at random did they? They knew that's where you had grown up." He nodded. She bit her lip, then said, "How do I know you are telling me the truth?"
"Well, you don't look like me for one. Even with triple helix Kryptonian DNA, it's pretty hard to get a fair, blond haired, blue-eyed, lovely girl such as yourself when I have an olive complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. None of my children are that fair. Even the two redheads have brown eyes - light brown eyes - and they are not extremely fair."
She bit her lip. "How many children do you have?" she asked softly.
"*I* have nine children. Clark Kent only officially has seven."
She frowned and said angrily. "So you *do* have more children than the ones you had with Lois Lane?"
He sighed, "Yes, it's complicated, but my first wife was Lady Zara of New Krypton. I also have children with her."
She sniffed. "I was hoping... " She hung her head. "I mean my parents have always been very supportive, and I've never had this huge interest in finding my biological parents, but I was hoping... I hoped you would help me. I mean, I have all these powers, and sometimes it's just overwhelming."
"Yes, it can be." He reached out and took her hand. "Just because I'm not your father doesn't mean I won't help you. Surely you must know that Superman would help you." He smiled. "How long have you known about your powers?"
"Well, there was the time I fell down a flight of steps when I fourteen. I just thought I was really lucky that I didn't get hurt." Her face was troubled. "I didn't know for sure until the scissors broke when mom tried to cut my hair. Then I started realizing other things. I realized I could float. I knew I was really strong. Then I just thought about your powers and started trying to think or concentrate about them, and there they were."
He nodded. "Hmm... So you can control them pretty well?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I've practiced, but.. it's just all so scary."
Clark understood. "Awesome power. Awesome responsibility. Something like that?" She nodded. He raised an eyebrow. "I know your parents - went to high school with your dad. Your parents don't know you are here, do they?"
"You don't know then?"
He shook his head no. "What do you mean?"
She fought tears then took a deep breath. "Three months ago, they were flying back from Alaska when their plane crashed. Dad was a good pilot, so I can't imagine what happened. They... they.. still haven't found them."
He hung his head and said sadly, "I'm so sorry, Marisol I didn't know. We'll see what we can do about finding them. My power of flight isn't quite up to par, but FireWind or Steel Lightning can take a look." He thought for a moment then said, "What about your brother and sister, Mari? Where are they?"
"They... they.. were in the plane, too." She started sobbing. "I'm... sor..ry." She hiccuped.
He took her in his arms and held her while she cried. "Oh, Mari. I'm so, so sorry."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zared and Jenni were both in their room when a knock came to the French doors. Zared answered the door smiled. "Perry! What a pleasant surprise."
Perry smiled, "Clark told me you two were taking up quarters in this guest room. That'll be nice. You will have your own entrance that way." He nodded to Jenni and winked at her. "Mrs. Kent." Jenni giggled. Perry continued, "I didn't get to say much more than congratulations yesterday. Alice wasn't feeling well so we had to leave early. Wanted to give ya' your gift in person." He handed Zared a huge, brightly wrapped package. "Now you just wait to open that until after I leave. You hear?" He pulled Zared into a bear hug. "I've gotta run. Gonna do some work for Jimmy tomorrow, and I gotta get my rest. He's dealing with Cat's ex today, so he asked me to fill in for him tomorrow. I hear he offered you a job yesterday. You gonna take it?"
"Yeah. I am. We need the money."
"Well, ah.. when ya' startin'?"
Zared half grinned. "Tomorrow afternoon," he said hesitantly.
Perry chuckled. "First day and ya' get old Perry in charge for the day, huh? Might have to send you to the morgue and initiate you good."
Zared's eyes were wide. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He'd heard stories about Perry. "Umm... I... Do gofers do that?"
"Yep. Gofers do whatever needs done." He winked at Zared and turned and left.
After he'd left, Zared turned to Jenni. "I can see it now. Elvis stories all day long."
Jenni started laughing. "Let's see what he got us. Bring that over here." Zared set the gift in front of her, and she started ripping it open like a kid at Christmas. She looked up at Zared with a perplexed look. "It's empty."
"Nah. It's not. He's just playing a joke. There's something in there all right."
She dug down in the box and felt the sides. "Oh. Here's something." She pulled it out and then gasped. "Oh, my gosh, Zared. It's a check for five thousand dollars. That's a lot of money."
Zared swallowed hard. He was speechless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jama was lying in bed, and she had just fallen asleep. A brief escape from the cramps was not to last. Brook jabbed her and woke her up. "Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day?"
Jama sighed and frowned. She sat up. "I don't feel good, and I just fell asleep. What do you want?"
Brook said softly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have woken you up. Daddy says I have to quit being so... so... pulsive or something like that."
Jama nodded in agreement. "It's impulsive, and yes you do."
Lara walked in then and said, "S'up?"
Jama winked at her and said, "I don't know what's up yet. Brook was about to tell me. Why *did* you wake me up, Brook?"
She giggled. "Jon thinks Caitlyn and daddy eloped some time in the past week."
Lara said thoughtfully. "What's loped mean?"
Jama giggled and said, "Loped means run. Eloped means to sneak off and get married."
"Yeah, but they said they was getting married, and that I could call Caitlyn mommy, so what's the big deal?" She grinned broadly.
Brook patted her foot somewhat impatiently. "They are not supposed to run off and do it in secret. Besides I don't like it. They haven't known each other long enough. I should have known though. Jon and I have both caught them in bed together."
Lara looked up at both her sisters. "So?"
Jama said, "Well, they aren't supposed to do that until they are married."
Lara bit her lip and turned her head sideways. "What's wrong with sleepin'? I've slept with daddy afore."
Jama said, "That's not what we mean, Lara." She looked at Brook and said, "You said that Caitlyn had her clothes on, for Pete's sake. I'm sure nothing happened. And Jon hasn't said much at all. He didn't mean to say anything. It just slipped out. Daddy just had major surgery and almost died. I'm sure *nothing* has happened. Caitlyn and dad were together this morning, but Caitlyn wasn't in bed with him. She was just in the room like she has been. She's been taking good care of daddy. I thought you liked Caitlyn. Why would you be upset if they got married or if they have eloped?"
Lara had been watching the interaction with great interest. She interrupted. "Then what..."
Brook answered as if Lara hadn't spoken. "I do like Caitlyn. I don't know. It's... just. I guess I don't want to share my daddy."
Lara said sweetly. "But he'll always be our daddy, no matter what. And what..."
Brook hung her head then said glumly. "You're right. You're both right. Maybe I'm just being selfish."
Lara's eyes were wide. "Daddy says not to be selfish." She didn't even try to ask her question this time. She'd ask her daddy later.
Jama nodded. "I'm going to go back to sleep. Or I'm going to go try." She motioned both of them out of her room.
Brook and Lara both walked out. Brook muttered, "Wonder why Jama got so upset 'cause I woke her up?"
Lara said, "Dunno. Something about a period."
Brook covered her mouth. "Oh." Lara skipped off, singing happily. Brook decided to join her and called, "Wanna play with the Legos?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trace Alderbrant couldn't stand it anymore. Jimmy and his mom had been dealing with his father all day long, and he absolutely had to get out of the house. He asked Jimmy if he could borrow the car. Jimmy nodded and asked where he was going.
"Thought I'd see what's going on over at the Kents. If nothing else, I'll check out their game room."
"Okay, be careful." Jimmy hugged him. "I'm glad you're okay, son. And don't forget that some investigators from New York will be here to talk to you tomorrow."
Trace smiled. Maybe now since his dad had been arrested, Jimmy could adopt him and officially be his dad. He had certainly been more of a father to him than the guy who had provided half of his genes. "Thanks, dad. I won't forget." He thought for a moment then added, "Won't they need to talk to the Blue Fairy and the Purple Pixie, too?"
Jimmy shrugged. "I suppose. Why?" The phone rang and Jimmy waved him off in a 'later' manner.
Trace was excited as he drove to the Kent home. He had ulterior motives. He wanted to find out which of the twins was the Purple Pixie. He fervently hoped and felt relatively sure it was Claire. When she smiled she had a little, barely noticeable dimple that her sister didn't have. He'd always had a crush on her so he'd noticed. After watching the news he had recorded over and over he had seen that dimple on Pixie, too. And besides, Chloe had Ben. Sure, Claire had dated 'Alex', but he'd heard that she dumped him. He hoped so because he planned on asking her out. He had wanted to for a long time, but Alex had been in the way for most of the past school year.
He drove up to the gate, put the code in, and drove in. He considered himself lucky to have their code, especially since only Clark could give out the code. The kids weren't allowed to. Having the code kept him from having to call on the intercom. They hadn't been using it much lately, but after Friday night, he figured they wouldn't be so lax any time soon. He parked then knocked on the back door. Chloe answered. She smiled - no dimple, "Hi, Trace. What brings you over?"
"Well, I would say I wanted to visit the game room. But I have ulterior motives. I wanted to see Claire."
She flashed him another brilliant smile. "You've always been able to tell us apart. How is that?"
He shrugged, "I don't know." He wasn't sure he wanted them to know how he could tell them apart. Hey, if they didn't know about 'the dimple' then he wasn't going to tell them.
"Hmmph. I'll go find her."
"I'll be in the game room." As she was walking away from him, he muttered, "Yeah, and maybe we'll talk about flying sprites."
At Trace's muttered statement, Chloe stopped ever so briefly on her way out of the game room. She was dumbfounded. Was their disguises not so good after all? She found Claire in their bedroom. "Claire," she said excitedly. "Trace is here. To see you. And he muttered something about flying sprites. I think he knows!"
Claire first looked shocked then pleased. She smiled. "Let's go."
Chloe cocked her head. "No, *you* handle this one. Just be sure to give him the proper warnings if he knows. I'm expecting Ben to come over."
"Not for a few more minutes. Come on let's go ask him if he knows."
Chloe sighed and looked at her sister in frustration. "He's here to see you. If you find out then you can just tell me. Be careful though. Okay?"
Claire pouted. She desperately wanted her sister's help but was resigned that she wasn't going to get it. "Well, okay." She ran off to find Trace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since Marisol didn't have anyplace to go, Clark invited her to stay there for a few days. He was showing her around the house. He smiled. "We have several guests right now. Let's see where we can put you. Mom and Dad are in the blue guest room. Rya.." He paused and swallowed hard thinking about Rya being in labor. "..and K'al are in Zared's old room. Hmm... I can put Los in with Jon and let you stay in the upstairs guest room. That should work."
She nodded numbly, barely believing this man's kindness and generosity. She had been in foster care since her parents' and siblings' deaths, and when she graduated from high school she hadn't really had anywhere to go. There was no insurance money yet because there were no bodies. "Oh, Superman..."
He interrupted her. "Please call me Clark. Everyone here right now knows who I am, but that's not always true. Remember this is a secret. I want to continue to have a personal life. I'm not sure that could happen if everyone knows who I am. Hmm... like I said, not everyone that enters this house knows about me. We just had someone come in who doesn't know." He smiled watching Claire and Trace converse. They both were acting awkwardly.
She nodded. "I'm sorry. I should have known that." She looked at him and smiled. "You don't know how much this means to me."
He smiled. "I'm sure some of the kids can enlighten you about having powers. You might be particularly interested in talking to Jon's girlfriend, Hannah. I'll let her tell you her story." He stopped in the kitchen. "You hungry?"
She nodded. "Famished. I'm a good cook. I could cook dinner for everybody," she said eagerly.
He chuckled. "I'll take you up on that in a couple of days. Right now, we have a ton of food here from the graduation party and from the reception. He motioned to the refrigerators. Help yourself to anything you like. I need to go upstairs and check on something. Will you be okay?"
She bit her lip and swallowed hard. "Yes," she said softly. She wondered what party and reception he was speaking of, but she didn't ask.
He patted her shoulder. "If you need me, just say my name. I should hear you."
She nodded. "Okay. Thank you."
He turned and left, and she started rummaging through one of the refrigerators. She quickly found something to eat. She turned when she heard someone clearing their throat.
A very tall young man with green eyes and auburn hair smiled at her. "Hey. I'm Ben. You seen Chloe?"
She just shook her head no. "Nuh-huh. Haven't met her. I'm Mari."
He nodded. "Nice to meet you. Chloe is my girlfriend. She's one of the twins." He walked towards the refrigerator. "Oooh. Looks good." He proceeded to fix himself a plate. He walked over and hit the intercom to Chloe's and Claire's room. "Chloe?"
"Yeah. Didn't know you were here. I'll be right down." Ben smiled like a besotted fool.
Mari grinned. "You're in love."
"That obvious, huh?" He sighed and nodded. "I'm smitten. This is true." He sat down at the table and started eating. He felt a paw on his leg. He looked down and saw a cat. He chuckled. "So you must be the infamous Meowoof. I've heard about *you*. You think you're half dog, don't you?" She rewarded him with a plaintive 'meow'. "Uh-huh. You want a bite of turkey, I guess. Okay, but just one bite. You probably aren't supposed to eat from the table."
Meowoof gobbled the bite of turkey. She could talk these people into anything. This was such a lively household. There were always so many people here! She then looked up at Marisol. "Meooow. Meow," she begged.
Mari grinned. "Okay. One bite from me, too. But that's all!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Claire ran down the stairs and towards the game room. She stopped right before entering the room and checked herself out to make sure she was presentable. She walked in and shyly said, "Hi, Trace." She bit her lip.
He grinned and then unable to resist, he said knowingly, "Hi, Pixie."
"Pixie?" Claire said innocently and incredulously. She swallowed hard and didn't know what to say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
