This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but on an up note, the next part will be posted later today or tomorrow.
I’d like to thank Rivka for telling me Ralph’s last name.
And I'd especially like to thank Olympe for her help with this part and the next. She also gave K'al his super name.
<Around speech indicates telepathic speech.>
You know I love feedback....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From part 37
On the way to the hospital, Caitlyn asked, “Los, are we going to do surgery on both kidneys tonight? I mean normally that wouldn’t be the case, and I really don’t want to do that. I mean what would happen if he started bleeding from the surgery on the first kidney while we were doing surgery on the second? But considering the circumstances, it might be best to go ahead.”
Los nodded. “Yes, you’re right in both aspects. I think we will just have to wait and see how he does with the first one. The bleeding is coming from his right kidney. I.. um… hope he doesn’t need blood. We don’t have any for him.”
Caitlyn nodded as they set down in front of the hospital. She took a quick look at him. “Oh, good, you thought to change back to Ultra Man. The rest of the kids all have the same type of blood. I’ll call Bernie… or I’ll have Hannah call Bernie and have him get some. I’m not sure what type blood Hannah has.”
Los nodded as they walked into the emergency room. “It won’t be the same.” Hannah and Jon were already there, and nurses were preparing Steel Lightning for surgery.
“I take it you got the results from the DNA testing, then?”
Los nodded. “Marisol’s father is Drull.” He took a deep breath. “Hannah’s father is Ching.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A New Hero: Part 38 “Ching? Oh, my, Cl… Kal-El is going to be furious.”
Los nodded. “Yes. And mother might kill him. No one else knows yet. Let’s not mention it now. I shouldn’t have mentioned it either.”
Caitlyn nodded in understanding. She looked up and saw a reporter trying to get into the emergency room. “Now, how… did they know?”
A respiratory therapist heard her. “The mayor’s here, so they don’t. At least I don’t think they do. I don’t think anyone saw Steel Lightning and the... uh... lady come in.”
Caitlyn smiled. “The White Tiger. Where’s my patient?”
“Uh… don’t know. There’s some excitement over there. Must be where he is.”
Caitlyn nodded, and she and Los walked that way. A nurse was trying to tell Hannah that she had to leave because the ‘doctor’ wouldn’t allow it, but of course Hannah wasn’t budging. Caitlyn spoke to the nurse, “Ruthie, as long as it’s okay with Steel Lightning, then it’s okay with me.”
Ruthie just nodded. “Dr. Kira. We need to shave him, but that’s obviously not going to be possible. Suggestions?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Yes, I think we can take care of it. Is surgery ready yet?”
She looked at her watch. “I don’t know for sure, but it’s been long enough.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark and Zared made the mistake of walking into the waiting room to enter the emergency room instead of entering through the outside entrance. They were accosted by reporters. They just looked at each other in shock. They had no way of knowing that the reporters had been there because of the mayor. Mayor or not, they had just become *the* story.
Mack Short called, “Superman, FireWind. Why are you here? And why are Ultra Man and the lady dressed like a tiger here? Is it to do with the man she brought in? We heard someone say ‘Steel Lightning’. Is he here? Is Steel Lightning your son?”
Zared’s eyes were wide. He wasn’t used to dealing with reporters. Clark, of course, was. He said, “Mack. I don’t really want to discuss it right now. But I will give a statement later. Much later. I will say that the lady in question is the White Tiger.”
Marsha Day said, “Is she your daughter?”
Clark took a deep breath. “No… comment.” He had started to answer that she wasn’t then thought better of it. He’d wait.
Ralph Spagoda said, “FireWind, are you Superman’s son?”
Clark nodded to all of the reporters. “No more questions.” He thought to himself, ‘Even if I work with you, Ralph.’
Zared and Clark strode towards the nurse motioning them towards the emergency room.
Zared looked at his dad with wide eyes. <Does it get any easier handling that?>
Clark nodded. <Yes, it does. But then, since I’m a reporter myself that probably helps, too. Don’t answer any questions right now. They can trick you into saying things you didn’t want to say. Your mom was *really* good at that.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zared and Clark walked over to where Jon, Hannah, Los and Caitlyn were. Caitlyn looked up from comforting Jon. “Oh, there you are. Z… FireWind. You have shaved Superman. Think you can shave Steel Lightning’s abdomen?” Zared swallowed hard and nodded. “Ruthie will direct you. Ultra Man and I need to go to the OR.”
Zared looked up at Hannah. <Tiger, eh? You didn’t want to do this?>
Jon interrupted, <Yeah, Tiger.> “And you just be careful with that heat vision. Especially when you get to certain areas.” Even though he was in pain, he grinned ever so slightly.
Hannah winked at Jon as she shook her head no. <No, my heat vision is still erratic. That’s a tricky one. It’s way easier to fly.> Clark and Zared both nodded in agreement.
Los walked back to Clark. <Dad. J’on J’onzz is here. Can both of you come to the surgery suite so I can explain to you?> He furrowed his brow. <Not that I really think J’on needs any explanation. You can explain to Zared. Zared, when you are done, a nurse will direct you to where we are.> Clark nodded and raised an eyebrow at ‘Dad’ as he followed Los. It pleased him.
As the nurse directed Zared, Hannah spoke to him, “Dr. Kira and Ultra Man say that Steel Lightning will still get anesthesia. But like your… Superman did, they are pretty sure he will remain awake. The anesthesia will prevent pain, but the telepathy is going to be used to help Steel… ‘allow’ them to do the surgery. Dr. Sommers said that they would put another kind of IV in, too - something called a central line. It’s supposed to go right into his subclavian vein.”
Zared took a deep breath. <So he has to *allow* them to bypass his invulnerability? Jon has had a central line before. It’s been a long time though. And speak to me with telepathy, Hannah.>
She grinned a little. <I thought you were the one that was skittish about it.>
Zared nodded. <I am. But no use letting anyone know more than absolutely necessary. I guess I’m going to have to get *unskittish* right away.> He looked at the nurse. “Will that do?” She nodded. He noticed that Jon didn’t seem to be awake now. “Is.. he… did he pass out, or is he medicated?”
“Medicated.” She touched his arm. “Go with this lady. She will show you where to go. Steel Lightning will be right behind you.”
Jon half opened his eyes. <I can hear you, Zared, but I’m kind of out… of it.>
Zared took a deep breath. <Love you, Jon.> He turned and followed the lady.
Hannah stroked Jon’s forehead. <I love you, Jon.>
<I’m scared, Hannah.>
<I know, baby, I know. It will be okay.> She kissed him on the forehead.
The nurse said, “They are here to take him to surgery.” You can go with them, and they will show you where you can wait.
As Jon was rolled into surgery, Hannah sat down in the waiting room - by herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One hour into the surgery, Jon felt like he was going to lose it. He didn’t feel pain per se, but he could *feel* none-the-less. He could feel sensations of tugging and pulling. On top of that he was lying in the most ridiculous position. They had him with his flank area higher in the air than his head and legs. They had told him that was to get better access to his kidney. He didn’t like it.
J’on, Zared, and his dad sat near his head. The feeling of three of them being in his head was pretty weird, too. He didn’t know how to describe it. Sometimes it was surreal. Sometimes he felt like bees were buzzing in his head. Sometimes they told him jokes. Sometimes he seemed to sleep. And one thing he knew for sure. Zared and his dad were almost as nervous as he was.
Once in a while, he’d cry out mentally that he didn’t think he could take it anymore. If he could have, he would have spoken aloud. He couldn’t, of course, because of that *stupid* tube they had stuck down his throat. The stress was unreal. Then his dad was there - soothing and calming. Or Zared would be there telling him a joke. And always there was the presence of J’on in a way he had never felt anyone else before. He had the feeling that if he wanted to that J’on J’onzz, aka The Martian Manhunter, could kill him with a thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After an hour and fifteen minutes, Martha Kent walked in and sat beside Hannah. She had the most ridiculous disguise on. She looked like a punked hippie. But Hannah didn’t care. At least she wasn’t alone anymore. She *was* glad the reporters hadn’t found her.
Martha said, “Sorry it took me so long. Bern… er... Dr. Klein has been taking some blood from the other kids. They have been waiting for it in surgery.” She looked around. “Umm… Superman’s oldest is here somewhere.” They were still in an open area, and Martha didn’t want to take a chance that some sleazy reporter hearing something they shouldn’t. She handed Hannah a note reminding her to be careful.
Hannah nodded and swallowed. “I guess you have permission to treat the kids in an emergency.”
Martha nodded and whispered, “Yes, since the twins are invulnerable, Dr. Klein wouldn’t take blood from the twins because he wouldn’t expose them to kryptonite without Superman saying it was okay. They were pretty mad especially since I said it was okay in this case. I didn’t quite understand his reasoning. Anyway, he took about half a pint from each of the youngest three children.”
“Will that be enough?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. The twins tried to ask Clark, but he couldn’t answer. I guess this takes too much concentration.”
K’al walked in and sat down. He was dressed much like Los had been - all in black - with the addition of a red vest. It looked much like the vest that Clark had worn on the mother ship when he underwent the ceremony of union to Zara.
Hannah looked at him. “Where did you get the vest?”
K’al shrugged. “It’s Superman’s. I guess he had it from where he wore it once upon a time.” He nodded to Martha. “She suggested it.”
“Do you have a name, yet?” Hannah grinned.
“Yeah, she suggested that, too. Lord Krypton.”
Martha shrugged. “It seemed to be fitting.”
Hannah nodded. “There’s coffee over there if the two of you want any. Cookies, too.”
The Sprites walked in. Both were pouting.
Martha patted their shoulders. “Maybe Jon won’t need the blood.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caitlyn and Los worked well together. Caitlyn had realized more and more what a talented physician he was. She would love it if she could work with him more. She knew he would be leaving, but hopefully it would be awhile before he did. She could learn a lot from him about treating Kryptonians - and probably humans, too.
She watched as a nurse hung blood. Fortunately, Jon hadn’t lost a lot of blood, but he had lost enough to require a replacement. She hoped Clark wouldn’t notice. She didn’t want him to start worrying about his other kids, too.
She noticed that Clark looked exhausted. “How are you fellas doing?”
Clark nodded. “Fair. Jon’s having a rough time. He’s very stressed.”
She nodded. “How are you? You are a bit pale.” Clark gave her a curt nod and closed his eyes tightly. She looked at Los and said softly. “Can he take a short break?”
“Hmm….” Los looked at J’on. <Do you think it’s okay if Superman takes a short break? About five minutes?>
J’on nodded. <Yes. I think it’s a good idea.>
Los nodded affirmatively at Caitlyn as he thought to Clark, <Father, you are struggling. Take a five minute break. Go to the bathroom. Get something to drink.>
Clark shook his head. <No, I’m fine.>
Caitlyn looked up. “Go.”
Los said, “You are still recovering yourself. This is a huge strain. *Take* a *break*. Besides we are closing up. It will be a few minutes before we can start on the other side.”
Clark sighed heavily and stood up.
Jon mentally groaned - not because his dad was taking a break but because he didn’t want to think about how much longer this was going to last. And his dad claiming that he was having a rough time and that he was stressed was an understatement if he’d ever heard one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark walked out to the waiting room and sat down heavily. He was glad that security was heavy and no reporters had slipped through. Chloe handed her dad a Seven-Up. He said, “Thanks. I didn’t realize all of you were here.”
Claire scratched her dad’s back. “We haven’t been here that long. We’ve been arguing with Dr. Klein about taking blood from the two of us. How’s he doing?”
Clark looked up and furrowed his brow. “Huh?”
Martha said, “Ultra Man had the White Tiger call Dr. Klein so he could obtain blood for Jon. He wouldn’t take any from the twins with my say so alone because he didn’t want to expose them to kryptonite. He did take about half a pint each from the other ones.”
“Oh.” Clark was too tired to protest. And Jon did need the blood or Los wouldn’t have asked. “Yeah. If he needs more, tell Ber… him it’s okay.” He rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. He wants a note.” Martha handed him one to sign. He signed it quickly. He stood up. “I need to go back.” Then the thought struck him that it was odd that he protested when Zared wanted to give him blood but not when one of the kids was giving blood to another one. He supposed it was different when it came to his kids.
K’al said, “Wait. You didn’t tell us how he’s doing.”
“He’s pretty stressed.”
K’al said, “FireWind is with him so that he has someone really close to him there. Let me take over a while.”
Clark shrugged. “No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
K’al thought to Los. <Los. Can I take over for father a bit? He’s quite pale.>
Los thought, <Yes, K’al, father. That’s a good idea. But only for about ten minutes.>
K’al stood up and walked towards a nurse that had just come out of the operating room. “I’m taking over for Superman for a few minutes.”
“Okay. Come with me. You will have to change clothing.” She did a double take. Lord Krypton looked like Ultra Man. FireWind and Steel Lightning looked like Superman. The Flying Sprites looked a lot like each other. Not knowing that some of them were part human, she wondered if Kryptonians came in ‘limited’ models like the Bokanovsky groups in a
Brave New World.
Martha giggled. “Superman, you don’t look much like yourself with scrubs on. You look more like someone else.” She winked to let him know what she meant.
He whispered, “Not too much, I hope. I’ve been keeping up the ‘stance’ in there anyway.” He laid his head back. “Well, if I have ten minutes, I’m going to rest.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When K’al joined Jon’s mind, Jon thought, <Where’s daddy?> Jon thought to himself how odd that was. He hadn’t called Clark ‘daddy’ for many years. Boys just didn’t call their dad ‘daddy’ when they were older.
<He’s taking a little break. He’ll be back in a few minutes.>
<Tell me about New Krypton. That will give me something to think about.>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark had actually fallen asleep. He jerked awake when Lara called him. <Daddy. Daddy.>
<Lara? Baby girl.> Clark sat up. “How long have I been asleep?”
Martha cocked her head sideways. “All of about seven minutes. Maybe a little more.”
He nodded. <Lara, honey. How’s my girl?>
<How’s Jon, daddy? I gave him some blood.>
<Yes, you did. And so did Brook and Jama. You are all so brave. Shouldn’t you be in bed?>
<Can’t sleep. We are all worried about Jon. Didna think I could talk to you so far away.>
<Yes, you can. Don’t try for awhile, though, okay? I have to go back and help Jon. Call Hannah or K’al instead.>
<’Kay. Love you. Brook and Jama say so, too. They say they can’t call you so far.>
Clark smiled a little. <Well, you tell them that I love them, too.> He could just imagine how well it was going over for Brook and Jama to realize that Lara could do something they couldn’t. He stood up, stretched, and then walked towards the OR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark and K’al passed each other quietly. Clark sat back down beside Jon. <Hey, Jon. I’m back.>
Zared grinned. <He’s asleep for the moment. Los says we still have to keep this up though. I guess he finally went to sleep because when they were closing up the incision he couldn’t feel the tugging as much. That must be pretty… weird.>
<You have *no* idea. It’s more than weird.> Clark took a deep breath. “Dr. Kira, Ultra Man, would it be better to wait to do the other kidney?”
Los answered. “Possibly. Jon is stressed. His blood pressure is erratic, but it is better than it was.”
Caitlyn added, “And the surgery has taken longer than we had thought. It’s been nearly three hours already.”
Los said, “But if we don’t go ahead, we are taking a chance that the other kidney will start bleeding. Once this happens to one kidney, it’s much more likely to happen to the other one. I think we need to proceed.” Caitlyn nodded. Clark closed his eyes tightly.
Zared asked. “How much longer?”
Caitlyn shrugged then spoke, “The other side shouldn’t take as long.” She looked at Los for confirmation.
“No, it shouldn’t. Let’s turn him over on the other side.”
When he was turned over, Jon awoke. <What.. Where… I…>
<You are still in surgery, Jon.> Clark patted his cheek. <I love you, Jon.>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K’al sat down beside Martha and looked a little pale. “That gives new meaning to what I had done to me.”
Martha looked at him curiously. “Done to you? You had this done, too?”
Hannah answered. “Oh, I guess you didn’t know since you left early Monday. Wait… is it still Monday… or is it Tuesday?” She shook her head. “This is some kind of defect that runs in the House of El. Lord Krypton has had surgery. Ultra Man will have to have surgery also.” She shrugged. “They didn’t say anything about checking out the other siblings, but I’ll guess they will have to.”
K’al nodded. “Yes. They will have to be checked out. The earlier this is found the better.”
Martha nodded. “When did you have surgery?”
“About four of your years ago.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The second part of Jon’s surgery was much easier for Jon to tolerate. It took less time, too. As they were finishing up, he fell asleep again.
Clark spoke, “I bet this would have been great if you’d been able to use this technique with me, eh, Dr. Kira?”
She nodded and her eyes smiled. “Yes, I imagine.”
Clark sighed. “Is he going to have to keep away from the sun as I had to?”
Los answered, “Your case was different. You had massive injuries.” <And a massive dose of kryptonite radiation.> “Even though Steel has an infection he will probably heal quickly. If he does well, he should be able to have full access to the sun after another day of antibiotics. Like you, though, he will still have a lot of healing to do.” <But I imagine he will be completely healed even when you still have healing to do.>
Clark rolled his eyes. <Figures. I’m not complaining though. I’m glad he’ll heal fast.>
Caitlyn looked up then stepped back. “We’re done.” She quickly strode out of the room, and Clark was pretty sure she was headed for the bathroom.
Los cocked his head and watched her. Then he turned back. “Dr. Kira said he will be in a place called Intensive Care.”
Clark stood up. “Really?”
Amanda nodded. “Yes. At least for a while. He will be recovered there, also.”
Zared said, “Recovered? That sounds like you left him somewhere and found him.”
She smiled. “I mean his post-operative recovery. The nurses will take frequent vital signs, etcetera.”
J’on J’onzz looked at Clark. <Keep me informed. You know how to find me if you need me.>
<Thanks, J’on.> He looked up at him. <I guess I won’t be at that meeting.>
J’on nodded and smiled. <I think you really need to be at the meeting. I’ll suggest rescheduling it. Better yet, I’ll say *you* wanted it rescheduled.>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jon woke up again when he was dragged from a gurney onto a regular bed. He still had the stupid tube down his throat.
He heard Amanda saying, “Steel, stop that. Don’t try to pull the tube out.”
He was trying to pull the tube out? He felt weird - like he was floating. He heard Amanda saying that he wasn’t breathing well on his own and was going to have to be put on a ventilator. A ventilator? He felt like he was breathing. As a matter of fact, he felt absolutely wonderful. He couldn’t ever remember feeling this great. ‘Oh, hey. Look at that. Isn’t that pretty. It’s so bright.’ He felt like he was walking towards it. How could he be walking? He was lying in a bed. No. He *was* walking straight toward the beautiful white light. He smiled. Suddenly he was stopped by someone. How dare someone stop him. It was so beautiful. He wanted to go towards the light.
“Jon. It’s not your time.”
“Mom? But it’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, it is, Jon. It’s very beautiful. But it’s not your time. I’m sorry I’m not there for you honey. I wish I could be. But I sent Los to you so he could help you. Otherwise you might have died.”
“You sent Los? And K’al? That means you were the reason Zared came here, too. I thought it was some guy named Mike.”
She laughed beautifully. “Mike? *I’m* Mike, Jon. At least in those particular instances, I was. Maybe I was before, too. I’m not sure.” Jon was drawn towards the beauty and started walking towards the light again. She stopped him. “No, it’s not time. You have a *very* long life ahead of you. Now, Jon, listen to me. Don’t be afraid to love Hannah. If you continue to be afraid, you will lose her - just like I almost lost your dad. I was afraid, too. But Jon, I know you are more afraid of yourself than you are of Hannah. Don’t be afraid because of what your brother did.”
“You… you know about Zared?”
She smiled and caressed his cheek. “Of course I do. I’m his mother. Oh, yes, I know I didn’t give birth to him, but he is my son. For all intents and purposes he is my son. And I know he has shared things with you that perhaps he shouldn’t have. Jon, honey. You won’t make the same mistakes.”
“I… uh… So I shouldn’t be afraid?”
“No, Jon.” Her eyes smiled. “One more thing. Tell Claire that I love her and I wish I could be there to hold her when she cries. Tell her to trust Clark. She can tell him anything.”
Jon shook his head. “She won’t believe me. She’ll just say I’ve been dreaming.”
She smiled. “Yes, she will. Tell her to look in her dad’s novel that’s sitting on her bookshelf.”
Jon shook his head in confusion. “Wha… What…”
“Just tell her.”
Jon was looking past his mom. He was overcome by the beauty of the light. He started towards it again.
She snapped, “No! You can’t go! She touched his arm and showed him where to find something special. “Oh, Jon, I was so proud of you the way you helped Lara. She found out what happened to me, didn’t she?” Jon numbly nodded. “I want you to tell her how much I love her. Oh, Jon, I love you so much. You are so handsome and talented and smart.” Then she gave him a shove and pushed him back into life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jon had just been put in the ICU bed, and he was restless. He reached for the tube, but Amanda told him stop.
Clark stood against the wall in pale shock as he listened to Amanda say that Jon wasn’t breathing. Caitlyn tried to ‘look’ calm and was succeeding quite nicely, but Clark felt waves of anxiety coming from her. He felt almost nothing from Los. He’d evidently put up full telepathic control. He supposed Los had to do this often living among a race of telepaths. Jon had gone limp and was pale and blue. His heart rate had slowed considerably.
They had intended on extubating Jon. Instead they would have to hook him up to a ventilator. It felt like forever to Clark. Even though Amanda assured him this wasn’t completely unusual in the case of having had surgery, he felt like he was living a nightmare. Then almost as soon as it had started, Jon was on the ventilator and it was breathing for him. Then suddenly, Jon sat up with wide eyes and looked around wildly. He started to pull the tube out again, but Clark stopped him. Jon looked at his dad with incomprehension as several hands gently pushed him back to the bed. He tried to speak but couldn’t because of the tube. <Mom? Where’s mom?> Jon frowned, then closed his eyes and went to sleep. Clark just shook his head and was glad Jon had fallen asleep.
A nurse that had taken care of him smiled at Clark. “He’s okay.”
Clark took a deep breath. “Jessi. I’m glad you are taking care of him. You were so good to me when I was here.” Then he put his arm around her. “Take good care of him.”
She nodded. “I will, Superman. All of us will. We have a VIP lounge set up for all of you.”
Caitlyn said, “How about the sleeping area. Is it available?”
Jessi nodded. “Yes, we’ve made it available. We booted a couple of interns out.”
Caitlyn grinned. “Good.” She took Clark by the arm. “I’m taking him in there to examine him so knock if you need to come in. Then he’s taking a nap.”
“Always do, Caity.”
Clark protested. “I don’t want to take the interns’ beds. And I don’t want to leave Steel.”
Jessi raised an eyebrow. “The interns found another place. They aren’t even supposed to be in that particular sleeping area. And it’s only about fifty feet away. You’ll be close.”
Zared looked up. <Dad.> “You look like crap. Go lie down. Tiger and I will be right here.”
Caitlyn looked at him expectantly. “Come on. You won’t do him any good if you end up getting sick. If you end up back in here.” Clark reluctantly allowed her to pull him along. He kept glancing back towards Jon.
As they walked off, Zared looked up at Jessi. “You know. You look a lot like Dr. Kira. Did anybody ever tell you that?”
Jessi laughed. “We don’t generally let it be known around here, but I’m her baby sister. Keep that to yourself. Okay?”
Clark and Caitlyn were out of earshot. He looked at Caitlyn with a raised eyebrow. “Jessi just told FireWind that she was your sister. Does she know? I mean… you know… about me. And I thought all your sisters had ‘lyn’ in their name.
“Her name’s Jessilyn.” Remember?” He nodded. “And no, she doesn’t know. Why would she know? She doesn’t know about the marriage either. I thought we’d tell everybody over the weekend. She opened the door to the sleeping area for Clark and motioned him in.
He nodded then stopped at the door. “I should speak to everybody and tell them how he’s doing.”
“Los is in the lounge talking to everybody. Now go in. I want you to sleep.”
“You aren’t going to examine me?”
“Do I need to? Are you in a lot of pain? Or are you just really tired?”
“Tired.” He sat down. “But I don’t want…”
She pulled him to her in an embrace. “Clark. Somebody will wake you if anything happens. Okay?”
Clark sighed. “You’ll let me know if he wakes up?” She nodded and gently pushed him down. “Now sleep.” She kissed him then said, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Los had updated everyone, he sat down beside Caitlyn at the desk. She was writing on Jon’s chart. “You are a very good surgeon, Caity.”
She smiled at him broadly. “Thank you, Ultra Man.”
“I..” He bit his lip. “I’d like you to do my surgery while I’m here.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened. “Los. Are you sure? I mean…” She shook her head, not quite believing what he had said.
He nodded. “Yes. I think it should have been done a couple of years ago, but Healer Zor-Te disagreed. Now, I fear I may have irreparable damage.”
Worriedly, Caitlyn said, “Are you having problems? Your blood sample didn’t show any infection.”
“No signs of infection, but I occasionally have some discomfort. That’s not unusual, but it’s also indicative of some damage. Jon may have had some discomfort - him rubbing his back - before he actually had any infection.”
Caitlyn nodded solemnly. “So you think you have an impending infection?” She wondered if it was possible to even know such a thing.
He nodded his head to the side. “No. I mean, there’s no way to tell. I…” He shrugged and leaned forward, resting his head on his hand.
She patted his arm. “It makes it a little more real having just done such a surgery, doesn’t it?”
He shook he head. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. “I’m tired. You must be, too.”
She nodded. “Yes. I thought after I got this charting done, I’d go lie down. Why don’t you do that? You talked everyone else into going home, didn’t you?”
He stood up, nodded, and headed towards the sleeping room.
It wasn’t long before Caitlyn followed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple of hours later, Jessi knocked on the door of the sleeping room. When no one answered after the second knock, she opened the door and walked in. In the first bed, she saw Ultra Man sleeping quietly. She looked past him to the next bed. She expected to see Caitlyn or Superman in that bed. Instead she saw them in the same bed - in an embrace. Her eyes grew wide. She supposed that date that Brandilyn had arranged by ‘buying’ Superman must have worked out better than anyone thought imaginable. She closed the door behind her and walked over to Caitlyn and touched her cheek. When Caitlyn stirred and looked up at her, she said, “Oh, Caity. You look so tired.”
Caitlyn closed her eyes. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” She waited. She knew if anything was wrong that Jessi would have been more excited. She didn’t notice the look of questioning on her sister’s face.
She answered nervously, “Umm… We… uh… We just extubated Steel, and he is breathing fine on his own. He’s.. he’s… starting to come around, too. Uh… I thought… umm… Superman would like to know. Umm…”
Caitlyn nodded and said, “Thanks. I’ll tell him.” Then she mumbled, “What’s wrong, Jessi?”
“Umm… You.. Umm…” All she could do was point to Superman.
Caitlyn sat up rapidly. “Oh, my god. Jessi… you…” She was fiercely shaking her head no. In response, Jessi slowly shook her head no indicating that she wouldn’t say anything.
Clark raised his head and rubbed his eyes. “Ooops.”
Jessi bit her lip. “Umm… Steel…”
Clark sat up. “I heard.” He turned to Caitlyn and kissed her cheek. “Stay. Get some sleep. They’ll call you if they need you.”
He stood up and walked out the door. He leaned toward Jessi. “Are you going to the family get together over the weekend?” She nodded. “Should be interesting, don’t you think?”
She looked at him wildly. “You… you’re coming?”
He nodded. “Just remember to stay calm when I get there. It won’t be obvious.” She looked up at him and nodded.
He walked in Jon’s room and sat down beside his bed. <Zared, Hannah, why don’t you go home? Get some rest. Zared, aren’t you supposed to work this morning at the zoo? That’s going to be hard to do without sleep.>
Zared nodded. <I had Chloe tell Jenni to call me in sick. I guess if I try to get some sleep, though, I could still make it to the Planet.>
Clark raised an eyebrow. “Sick?”
Zared shrugged. “I figured that sounded as good as ‘family emergency’. It’s not like I could tell them the truth.”
Clark nodded. “Go.” Zared stood up and nodded.
Hannah said, “I’m staying.”
Clark just looked at her and shook his head. “You’ve been crying so much that you have raccoon eyes, and on top of that they are red and swollen. You are exhausted and beyond stressed. Now go!”
“No.” She shook her head.
Clark chuckled. <Hannah.> “You might scare him if he sees you. Now go get some sleep.”
She pouted. “Do I really look that bad?”
He laughed. “Go back to the house.” Reluctantly she left. Zared was waiting for her and they left together.
Jessi walked in to Jon’s room. “Superman, can I get you something to drink?” She swallowed hard as she thought about him kissing her sister on the cheek.
He shook his head yes. “Thanks. That would be nice. Something like Seven-Up or Sprite,” he said hopefully.
She nodded and left the room, returning shortly. She handed him a can of Seven-Up. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, Jessilyn,” he said almost playfully. Caitlyn had told him Jessi wasn’t crazy about that name.
“Well, I would ask how you know that’s my name, but I don’t guess that’s necessary.”
Clark chuckled. “Well, your sister and I *are* friends.”
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Friends. Uh-huh. Good friends. *Very* good friends. Call if you need anything.” She nodded towards Jon. “He’s doing quite well right now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
