As, I promised, here’s the next chapter. Meowoof will be back in the next chapter.
There is some unexpected wham.
<Around speech indicates telepathic thought.>
~Around speech indicates Kryptonian speech.~
This part is rated PG-13
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Part 38
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, Jessalyn,” 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.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER 39
When Caitlyn started to sit back down on one of the beds in the sleeping area, Los sat up and sighed. He looked around. “Where is father… er, dad?”
“He’s with Jon. They took the tube out and he is starting to wake up. Your dad wanted to be with him.”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “Caity, why don’t you let me take you home? I’ll come back.”
She shook her head no. “I’d just as soon sleep here. I’ve got to do surgery in a couple of hours, so I might as well stay. You can observe if you like. I’d say you could help, but since the patients aren’t ‘super’, I doubt they’d let me get away with it.”
He nodded. “I understand. Yes, I will observe. In that case, we should both get some sleep.”
“Yes. Los, do I need to examine you now?”
He shook his head no. “No, I’m fine. Promise. You can wait until we are ready for the surgery.”
With that, they were both soon asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark was holding Jon’s hand. His other arm was slung across the bed rail and he was resting his head on his arm.
Jon awoke and looked around. The staff seemed to be pretty busy. There must be some pretty sick patients here. He was glad that he apparently wasn’t considered one of the sickest patients. He raised his hand and ruffled his dad’s hair.
Clark sat up. “Jon. I guess I was half asleep.” Jon smiled a little then grimaced. Clark handed him a push button that looked something like a call button. “Here, push this when you need something for pain. You have self controlled pain meds. If it’s not enough, they will give you something more.”
“Thanks, dad. What is it?”
“You mean the pain medicine?” When Jon nodded, Clark continued. “Morphine, I think. How do you feel?”
Jon frowned. “Like I’ve been cut all the way around.”
Clark nodded. “Pretty much. You’ve got some whopper incisions. You might as well say that they *do* go all away around your middle - all except a few inches.”
Jon coughed a little and held his abdomen. Jessi heard him coughing and walked in. “Here.” She handed him a pillow. “Hold this against your abdomen when you cough. It will help.” He coughed a couple of more times, then she said, “Now let me see.” She started pulling up his gown to check his incisions.
Jon looked down. “When I woke up earlier, I’d of sworn I didn’t have a gown on.”
“You didn’t. We put one on you after that. Did your dad tell you about your pain meds?”
He nodded. “You know he’s my dad?”
She smiled. “It’s pretty obvious by the way he’s acting. Besides, he had to give consent for your surgery.” She pulled his gown back down and handed the pillow back to him. She said to both of them, “Call if you need anything.”
Jon turned on his side towards his dad. He bit his lip waiting for the subsequent pain to subside. “I almost died, didn’t I?”
Clark raised both eyebrows in shock. “You quit breathing for several seconds, but that’s all. That’s why they put you on the ventilator.”
Jon shook his head. “No. I almost died. Mom wouldn’t let me. She pushed me back.” Clark just blinked slowly. Jon continued. “Yeah, she told me… Do you think Claire is awake?”
Clark shrugged. “I doubt it.”
Jon thought to Claire, <Claire, are you awake?>
<Yes. I’m awake.>
<You’re crying. Again. Claire, I almost died. I saw mom.> Then he proceeded to give her Lois’ message. Claire protested that he was just dreaming just as he thought she would. <Just look on the bookshelf, Claire. Okay.> He looked at his dad then and narrowed his eyes. “We’re you listening?”
Clark shook his head no. “You know better than that. But I am curious. What do you know about Claire?”
“Just that she’s been crying a lot.” Then he told his dad what his mom had said about his relationship with Hannah. He sighed. “I don’t know if I’m ready to have sex, but I think if I don’t I’m going to lose Hannah.”
Clark pursed his lips. “Well, some people would say that if she’s not willing to wait then she’s not worth it.”
Jon nodded. “Yeah, but you and I both know that’s not the case here.”
Clark nodded. “Maybe she just wants a commitment, Jon. I agree with your mom. Don’t be afraid of yourself. Trust your instincts - not the fear. What are your instincts telling you?”
Jon frowned. “Why would she think I’m not committed?”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “Well, why would she? Have you told her how you feel? I mean, I know you have told her you love her. But you’ve been telling her that for many years - as a friend. Isn’t it different now?” Jon nodded slowly. “And have you told her it’s different?”
“I.. I guess not. I guess I just thought she’d know.” He looked down.
“Nope. Women don’t work like that, son. They need to be told. Now about those instincts…” he questioned.
Jon bit his lip. “They tell me not to be afraid.” He took a deep breath. “But dad… I’ve always wanted to wait until I was married.”
Clark nodded. “I know, Jon. Does Hannah know how important that is to you?”
He shook his head no. “I don’t think so. I don’t think she would have done what she did if she knew.”
Clark’s eyes twinkled. “But I believe you still enjoyed it, did you not?”
Jon blushed. “Well…” He nodded. “But I’d still have preferred to wait for that, too.”
Clark thought for a moment. “Well, you need to tell Hannah that. But Hannah isn’t just ready for sex, Jon. She’s ready for marriage.”
Jon looked at him incredulously. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Clark sighed. “That’s up to you, Jon. You are young, but you are both very, very mature for your years.”
Jon narrowed his eyes. “You know I have to live on campus my first year at MetSA. She might not like having to live in the dorm with me my first year of college.”
Clark grinned. “Really? I bet she’d be happy with you no matter where that was, Jon. Do you know how wonderful it is to have someone love you like that?”
Jon nodded. “I guess I need to tell her how I feel.” He bit his lip. “But what if.. I…” He stopped and didn’t say anything further.
Clark shook his head in confusion. “What if what?” Jon averted his eyes. Clark brushed the side of his cheek. “It’s okay, Jon. You can say anything to me.”
Jon swallowed. “What if.. I don’t please her. I mean… I feel so inadequate… I mean.. a couple of the things I’ve heard Zared say… Well, I don’t… I was confused.”
Clark nodded once and said quietly, “Oh.”
Jon fidgeted. “So… tell me.”
“Tell you…” Clark questioned.
“Everything. How to… you know… make Hannah very happy.”
Clark took a deep breath and grinned. He wasn’t entirely sure about this, but Jon was so sincere. “Okay, Jon. What do you want to do know? Ask me anything.” And so father and son began a *very* frank discussion about the pleasures and pleasantries and making one’s lady very happy indeed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two hours later when Caitlyn and Los walked into his room, Jon was asleep with a smile on his face.
Clark looked up. “Hey. Jon just went back to sleep. Do you have to wake him?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Yes.”
Clark sighed. “Yes, I should know that.”
Jessi walked in about that time to assist with the exam if she was needed. Caitlyn looked at her. “It’s almost time for you to leave isn’t it?” Maggie nodded. Caitlyn touched Jon’s shoulder. “Steel. Steel.”
Jon woke up and said, “Steel?” He paused. “Oh, yeah.”
After examining him, Caitlyn smiled. “You are doing well.”
Jon grinned. “Can I go home?”
She shook her head no. “Not yet.”
Clark raised an eyebrow and clucked, “How about the lab? The only real reason he’s still in intensive care is because of the security, isn’t it?”
Caitlyn shrugged. “Pretty much. I’ve got surgery this morning. Let me see how he’s doing after that.”
Jon sighed. “Dad… why don’t you go home and get some rest. I’ll be fine.”
Jessi wondered where ‘home’ was and she wondered if her sister Caity knew where ‘home’ was, but she said nothing.
“Someone needs to stay with you. I’ll be fine.”
Caitlyn, Los, and Jessi exited the room. It wasn’t long before Jon… and Clark were both asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later, Jon woke up. His dad wasn’t there, but there was a note saying he’d just gone for a little walk, and that he’d be right back. He wondered if his dad was actually walking around the hospital in the ‘super’ suit or if he had borrowed scrubs. Jon sat up in bed, winced, used some pain medication then got out of bed. He knew he probably shouldn’t get up without help, but he desperately wanted to stand up for just a few moments. Between the catheter, two IV’s, and monitors, he couldn’t move far, but the window was practically right by his bed. He opened the shades and looked out. It was raining.
He was standing there thinking when someone approached him. He felt him before he saw him. And he knew what he thought - ‘He shouldn’t be standing up.’ Jon was perplexed. He didn’t usually pick up thoughts from non-telepaths. Was this person a telepath? And if he was, he was totally undisciplined. He turned toward the man.
The man, a nurse said, “You shouldn’t be standing up without assistance. Your blood pressure has been just a bit low, and we don’t want you to pass out.” Jon nodded and turned toward the bed. He wavered just a bit. The man thought, ‘I knew it. He’s going to pass out.’
Jon shook his head no and sat down on the bed. “No, I’m not going to pass out.”
“Did I say that out loud?” The man said, surprised.
“Umm… n… no.” Jon wondered if this man was part Kryptonian. His dad had said that he thought there were other Krypterrans. But this man was too old to be a Krypterran that a New Kryptonian would have fathered - or mothered, for that matter. Had they been here before? He wasn’t very good at checking DNA or he would have done that. He was going to have to ask his dad for lessons. <Who are you?>
The man didn’t realize that Jon hadn’t spoken. “Oh, I’m your nurse today. My name is Dave.” He put his hand on Jon’s shoulder. “Lie down for me so I check you over. Okay?”
Jon nodded. <Okay, Dave. But who are you? Are you human?>
Dave thought, ‘Is he crazy? What’s he *mean*, am I human?’ Then he laughed, “Of course, I’m human. What do you mean?”
“No, I’m not crazy, Dave.” He lay down. <I just haven’t met many humans with your telepathic ability. And you know you are projecting rather loudly. You should try not to do that.>
“Tele.. pathic. Rigghht…” He looked skeptical. ‘Well, he did just have surgery. Uh-huh. Must be a little out of it.’
<Look at me. Yes, I did just have surgery, but I’m not currently ‘out of it’.>
Dave looked at him suspiciously. “How did you do that?”
“I’m telepathic. So are you, evidently. You didn’t know?”
Dave closed one eye and raised the other eyebrow as if he thought Jon was loony. “Uh… Well, sometimes it does seem that I know what people are thinking, but man, I’m not Mr. Spock.” He pulled up Jon’s gown. ‘This guy’s crazy.’
“No, I’m not crazy. If I was then I wouldn’t keep repeating what you are thinking. Think something. Anything.”
Dave paled. ‘I don’t like this. He’s scaring the pants off me.’
Jon said, “I don’t like this. He’s scaring the pants off me.” Jon grinned. “You still look dressed to me. I’m the one that’s currently pantless.”
Dave quietly checked Jon’s surgical wounds, his IV’s, monitors, and catheter. He swallowed hard but was unable to actually say anything.
Jon said, “I’m sorry. I just assumed you knew or had figured it out. I take it you didn’t take care of Superman when he was here? You’ve evidently never come across another telepath, or you would have learned to… keep your thoughts in check. Like I said, you are broadcasting.”
Dave shook his head no. “No, I didn’t take care of Superman. I was on vacation.” He fidgeted. “You… umm.. seem to be healing rapidly.”
Jon nodded and sat up. “The advantages of a Kryptonian heritage.” He leaned forward. “Tell me. Do you heal rapidly, too?”
“Uhh... I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Clark walked back in. He smiled on seeing Jon awake. <I love you, Jon.> “You must be feeling better if you are sitting up.” He saw Jon’s eyes go wide. Jon hadn’t warned his dad to project solely to him. He should have realized and told his dad as soon as he knew about Dave.
Dave said quietly. “You name is Jon? Your name is Jon.” He sat down numbly.
Jon turned to his dad and quickly explained. He projected only to his dad.
Clark turned to him. <Telepathic, huh? And you didn’t know. Are you Kryptonian?>
Dave’s eyes went wide. “Don’t think so.”
“Hmmph.” Clark looked at Dave’s DNA.
“But I… when I was five, I just showed up in a shopping mall. No one was able to ever find my parents. I remember… things that seem impossible.”
Clark looked at Jon. <He’s of the House of El, Jon. He is Krypterran.>
<How’s he related?>
<Don’t know. I’m not good enough at the DNA thing to figure out exact relationships. That would probably have to be checked at S.T.A.R. labs.> He looked at Dave. <Show me what you remember.>
Dave shrugged. “There are just little bits here and there. I do know my name is David Masters. But no one could ever find out anything about me.”
Clark nodded encouragingly. <Show me.> Clark saw images… of himself. Of Utopia. Of someone - a daughter - named Laney that called Clark father. Of Brook… an older Brook, but it was definitely Brook. Of grandchildren? And great-grandchildren? Of someone abducting David and putting him in a time machine. But it wasn’t Tempus. It was someone who wanted to hurt someone in his family. He saw Los screaming, ‘No’.
Clark swallowed hard. “The one image you showed me… was me. You came from the future.”
Dave frowned. “The future? Well, don’t tell me I have to go back. I have a wife and a daughter and I’m quite happy here.”
“And you can’t communicate telepathically with your daughter?”
“I’m not her biological father.”
Clark nodded. “And you don’t have… any powers?”
He shook his head no. “No powers. Why would I have powers?”
Clark sighed. “Because I suspect that you are a descendant of mine - grandchild, great-grandchild, etcetera.
He shook his head no. “No, I very clearly remember my grandfather. You aren’t him.” His eyes got wide and he pointed at the man who had just entered the room. “But he is.” Los smiled at Dave as he walked over to Jon. Dave stood up. “No, no. I don’t want any part of this. No… No… I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know.” He turned and fled.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah walked in, leaned over and kissed Jon. She smiled at Clark. “Go home and get some rest. You, too, Ultra Man.”
Jon and Clark were looking at each other somewhat wildly. Clark looked at Jon. <Don’t say anything. We’ll figure it out later.>
Los nodded. “I am tired.” He quickly checked Jon’s incisions with his ‘see-through’ vision. “Steel is doing *very* well.” He yawned.
“Can I go home. I mean if I’m doing that well, then why not?”
Caitlyn walked in and said. “Hmm… Still clamoring to go home?” He nodded. “Let’s see how you are doing a little later this evening. Then we’ll see.”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
Caitlyn nodded. “People go home the same day of surgery all the time - even major surgery. And he’s doing fantastic. But let’s wait a little longer.”
Jon nodded. “Okay.”
Caitlyn pulled his gown up and did a quick exam. “Yes, you are healing quite well. Your lab work is good. The infection is clearing.”
Jon smiled and looked at his dad and Los. “Go home. You, too, Caitlyn.”
“I wish. No can do. I’ve still got to go to the office.”
Jon smiled and took Hannah’s hand as the three of them walked out. Dave walked in and quickly hung an antibiotic. He kept his head down and didn’t speak. But Jon could tell he was very anxious. He touched him. Dave looked at him quickly then looked away again. <We aren’t going to do anything to hurt you. We aren’t like that.>
<I don’t know. I don’t know. I just don’t know. I’d like to know about that control thing though.>
Hannah started to speak but Jon shook his head no. “Let’s make arrangements to have lunch together, and we’ll talk. Okay? I promise you can trust me.” Dave shook his head no. Jon sighed. “Okay, give me a few days to get to feeling better and just call out to me, okay?”
“Maybe, maybe.” He turned and left the room.
Hannah looked at Jon expectantly. His dad had asked him to keep it quiet, but he could tell her a little bit. <He’s got a quite a bit of telepathic ability and apparently I scared the crap out of him when I spoke to him telepathically.> He shook his head once. “Never mind. Let’s talk.” <And don’t say anything to Dave. He’s too scared.> He looked lovingly into her blue eyes. “Hannah, I love you. I mean, I really love you. Like a man loves a woman. Dad reminded me that maybe I’d never told you that.”
She pulled back and swallowed. “I love you, too, Jon, but I’m not sure this is the place to discuss this.”
“Maybe not. But I want to discuss it now. They are busy with other things, anyway, and aren’t likely to bother us anytime soon. I’m mostly here now because of security issues - not because I’m that sick.” He pulled her towards him. He looked at her longingly. “When I quit breathing… I was closer to dying than anyone around here thought. I saw mom. She told me not to be afraid. Dad told me the same. But Hannah… I… know it’s old fashioned, but I never…” He swallowed. “I always wanted to wait until marriage… for even what we’ve… already done.”
Hannah hung her head. “You mean what I did.”
“I was there. I certainly could have asked you to stop. So it’s we… not you.” He sighed.
She bit her lip. “I know I’ve heard you say that’s the way it should be, but I didn’t realize that was truly the way you wanted it. You are really quite serious, aren’t you?” He nodded. “And I’ve pushed… and pushed. I’m sorry.” She looked at him as a lone tear ran down her cheek. “But Jon… We’ve shared everything. I want to share this, too. And I’m not convinced that you think I’m the *one*. After all you told me that maybe friends shouldn’t be lovers.” She sat away from him and pouted. “I want this Jon - badly.”
Jon bit his lip. “I didn’t say never, Hannah. When I said that, even though we were beginning to be more than friends, we really were still *just* friends then. And you wanted us to have sex even then. That’s a whole lot different than practicing our kissing techniques with each other when we were thirteen and fourteen. Remember that my mom and dad started out as friends. And I can’t imagine them having become lovers when they were still *just* friends.” He caressed her cheek sweetly. “Hannah, you are the *one*. But you would want this… even if I wasn’t the *one*? I mean even if we were still just good friends, and we meant nothing more to each other than that, you’d still want this, wouldn’t you? You’d really want me to do this knowing how I feel about waiting for marriage?”
“It’s something to consider, but yes, I want this. I can understand you wanting to wait until marriage, but I…”
He hung his head and said softly, “Do you love me, Hannah? Do you really love me Hannah? Or do you just want to practice? Like we used to practice kissing?” Jon winced and lay back.
“Oh, Jon, you can’t really think that.” She was worried about him being in pain and slumped back. “Do you need something for pain?”
He shook his head no. “I’ve got it. They have me on self-controlled pain meds.”
Hannah’s lip trembled. “Maybe… I haven’t told you that I love you, either - like a woman loves a man. I do, Jon. Don’t you realize that I’ve known that you are the *one* for a very long time? I might have said so, but those kisses were never really practice to me.” She whispered, “I love you, Jon. But I’m pretty sure you don’t want to marry me. I’m not sure you ever will.”
He squeezed her hand. “You’re wrong about that. I’m… We’re both young to get married, but if that’s what you want and you want it now, then that’s what you’ll get. But Hannah… That’s the only way I’ll have sex with you. If we are married.” He looked at her steadily. “I really do love you, you know.”
She stood up and kissed him sweetly. He pulled her toward him and deepened the kiss. Finally, he put his arms around her.
Dave walked in and cleared his throat. He giggled. “Well, I take it the White Tiger isn’t Superman’s daughter.”
They pulled apart and both blushed. Hannah said, “No. I’m not.”
Dave nodded. “Jon… Umm… sorry, Steel… I need to check on you, and then you need to get up and take a little walk.”
Hannah said numbly, “Jon?”
Jon shrugged. “It was an accident.”
“Oh.” She looked at Dave. <So, you are telepathic, huh?>
<Hannah! I told you…>
She bit her lip. <Sorry.>
Dave looked between the two of them. “Well, now this could prove to be pretty interesting. Hannah. Jon. Should I ask what your last name is, too?”
Jon winked. <We have blocks up now, so you aren’t likely to get it.> He rolled his eyes, hoping he had taught Hannah enough about controlling her telepathy in the last few days.
Dave looked between the two of them. “I guess not.” He looked at Hannah. “Can you step out while I check his incisions?”
Jon started to say she could stay and then nodded at her to leave. She shrugged and walked out. As Dave checked him out, Jon said, “What can I say to get you to trust me?” Then he paused. “You’ve had some kind of bad experience haven’t you?”
Dave tried to shrug it off. “My mom… my adoptive mom knows. She says ‘they’ will experiment if they know.”
Jon rolled his eyes. “Dissect you like a frog.”
“Nooo.”
Jon nodded. “That’s what my grandparents always said to dad when he was growing up.”
Dave’s eyes widened. He helped Jon get out of bed and started walking around the room with him. “You mean Superman grew up on earth? I thought he arrived… well, when he *arrived* and rescued The Messenger.” Jon shook his head no. “So you want me to trust you? What *is* your last name?”
Jon took a deep breath. “I can’t tell you that. There are other people to be considered.”
“Okay. Ultra Man is my grandfather. How are you related to him?”
“He’s my brother. My half-brother actually. He’s from my dad’s first marriage. My mother was his second wife.”
“Was?”
Jon nodded. “Was. He’s remarried now.”
“Divorced?” Dave’s mouth was hanging open.
“No.”
“So let me get this right. Your dad’s been married three times?”
Jon nodded and sat back down on the bed. “Yes. Is that enough to make you trust me?”
“Okay. How about you call me when you’re better.” He gave Jon his number.
Jon nodded. “I’ll do that.”
Dave turned to leave. “My shift is almost over. I don’t know if I’ll be back in or not. And… thanks.”
Jon nodded. “You work eight hour shifts instead of twelve, huh?”
“Today I am.” He nodded again and walked out.
Hannah walked back in and kissed him on the cheek. “Make a new friend? Are you going to tell me what the deal is?”
Jon nodded. “Made a new friend. Not gonna tell you the deal yet.”
She nodded and sat down beside him. “Is it okay if I sit here?” He nodded. She smiled. “I think we got interrupted. “Did you ask me to marry you?”
He grinned. “Depends on your answer.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los set his father down on the balcony and started to walk out of the master suite. He was terribly quiet.
“Los, what’s wrong?”
He sat down. “Oh, father… dad. I don’t understand… how… I wouldn’t have thought...” He swallowed hard. “Drull was Marisol’s father. Hannah’s father is Ching.” He closed his eyes tightly. “I wouldn’t have thought him to be a rapist.”
Clark was shocked. “No… Ching is hard man. I can understand that being Zara’s protector he has to be. But I do not believe he is a rapist. There must be another explanation.”
Los sighed. “Even if he had sex with Hannah’s mother, Marilyn, he’s not honorable. I overheard them talking once. He told mother he did not have sex with any humans. I don’t know how the conversation came about because that’s all I heard.”
“Well, you know how you and your co-twins came about. Could something like that have happened to Ching? Perhaps Lord Nor thought that would harm Ching in Zara’s eyes.” Then his eyes widened. “You don’t think they could have done something like that to me, do you?”
“You mean Lord Nor? No, your DNA or sperm would not have been easily accessible to him at the time. But Jen-Mai was working with Lord Nor. And Ching, at one time, trusted him, so Jen-Mai could have done something like that, I suppose.”
Clark sighed. “Hannah is awaiting the results. Perhaps it would be better to tell her you don’t know.”
Los shook his head. “No. I’ve already told her that all Kryptonian DNA profiles were available in the data orb. Except maybe yours since the information was programmed before Lord Trey impregnated mother with your sperm. We do have your DNA profile on New Krypton.”
Clark nodded. “Okay, but we will have to break this news gently and tell her of our thoughts.”
“Mother will kill him. He had an affair, and she damn near killed him then.”
“I thought having concubines was an acceptable practice among royalty. And he would be considered a lesser Lord now, wouldn’t he?”
Los nodded. “Yes, he is. But mother has been trying to abolish the practice of using concubines. And Ching is well aware of that.”
Clark nodded. “You and Los… both seem to have ambivalent feelings about him. I would think you’d see him as your father. But yet both of you obviously see me as your father.”
Los nodded. “Yes. It was important that we always remember that you were our father. Ching reminded us quite often that he was *not* our father. Until we were about six or seven, we called him father in private, but then he suddenly stopped allowing that and stopped acting like our father. He started acting more like our… trainer. And so he was.”
“Do you know why he did that?”
Los answered reluctantly. “I have an idea, but I’m not sure.”
Clark nodded encouragingly. “Tell me.”
“He found out that you had been to New Krypton and that you had taken Zared. He didn’t even know about Zared. I mean, he didn’t remember him. I don’t know all the circumstances, but he became quite angry that you had been allowed to take one of your sons.”
Clark cocked his head. “I thought he was quite upset about Zared looking so much like me and was glad to get rid of him… to have forgotten about him. At least that’s the way I understood it.”
“Hmmm… I didn’t know that. Maybe he didn’t remember everything. I’m pretty sure that he didn’t.” His eyes were sad. “It was hard seeing our siblings still call him father when we weren’t allowed to.”
Clark hugged him. “Well, I am happy and pleased to be your father, and even if I didn’t consent to your conception, I’m still very honored. And I love you. I’ve always loved you and held you in my heart. I’m glad I now have the opportunity to get to know you.” Los smiled. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“I have four sisters and one brother. And when we left… mother was pregnant. But K’al doesn’t know.”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have thought she’d have time to have that many children.”
He shrugged a little. “It’s been hard, and she’s had a lot of help, but she has still managed to give all of us more than decent attention. In an effort to increase the population, she instituted special incentives to women who had five or more children - or at least tried to have that many. She felt like she couldn’t ask more of the people than what she was willing to do herself. It’s worked pretty well, too. She did that… hmm… twelve years ago. Since then the population has drastically increased.”
Clark nodded. “Now, tell me what else is wrong.”
Los bit his lip. “As you know, mother gave me permission to pursue my own relationship. But K’al says she intended me to still marry royalty. I’d like to disagree with that, but he’s right. He’s suggested that if I don’t break it off with Marisol now that he will force me to marry someone not of my choice.”
Clark rubbed his chin. “There has to be a way. Would it help if I talked to him?”
“I doubt it. He’d remind you that you don’t understand all the royal protocols.”
Clark sighed and closed his eyes. “Get some rest. We’ll think about it and maybe we can come up with something. Okay?”
Los nodded. “Thank you, dad. Oh, and I’ve asked Caitlyn to perform my surgery while I’m here.”
Clark smiled. “I’m sure she’s honored that you think she’s that good of a surgeon. But do you think that’s wise after only having done the surgery once?”
“Oh, yes, fath… dad. She’s done many other surgeries. And I’ve done that particular surgery only one other time.”
Clark nodded and hugged Los again as he walked out of the master suite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked into Jon’s bedroom - also his bedroom now, he supposed. He was so tired. <K’al, is Rya doing okay?>
<Yes, she is fine. We need to talk.>
<I’m tired. No, I’m exhausted. I just wanted to check on Rya. I’m not talking now.>
<~Very well, Lord Los-El, but we *will* talk.~>
Los took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly fighting tears. His brother had called him Lord Los-El, and he had used Kryptonian. He suspected what he would demand. <~Very well, Lord K’al-El. Very well.~>
He sat down on the bed and sighed heavily. He decided he would take a shower before getting some sleep. He walked to the bathroom down the hall and stripped before stepping into the shower. The hot water felt good.
He got out of the shower and dried off. He wasn’t quite used to using heat vision to shave, but he gave it a try. After giving himself a burn down the side of one cheek, he finally got the hang of it. At least it would heal quickly.
He sighed, made sure the towel was secure around his waist, picked up his clothing and walked back toward his room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisol had eagerly awaited Los’ return. She wanted to know the results of the DNA test, and she just wanted to talk to him. She felt so happy around him. When she saw him head towards the bathroom, she decided she would wait for him in his bedroom. She giggled. She considered greeting him with nothing on, but she decided that would be a bit forward. Well, it was just a thought. She’d probably not have really done it. She sat down on the bed and started reading another of Clark’s books.
Los walked in and even though Marisol was right there in plain sight Los closed the door and whipped the towel off. Marisol started giggling. Los was so fervently glad that he had turned to face the door when he closed it. He was bright red. And he had thrown the towel and his clothing across the room. “Umm… Do you think you could hand me the towel?”
She came towards him, floated up and kissed his neck. She peeked over his shoulder. “Hmm… I don’t know. I kind of like you like this.” He leaned into the door and groaned. She giggled again. “Here.” She didn’t hand him the towel though. She wrapped it around him, making contact at just the right places. Then she fluttered kisses down his back before turning away.
He took a deep breath and quickly grabbed some clean clothing. He walked into the closet to dress. He hoped she hadn’t seen what she’d done to him. He wasn’t even sure it was safe to go back out. He looked down. Maybe… with jeans on, it would be okay.
He walked out. “Mari… I.. uh.. didn’t expect you.”
She grinned and blushed. “I assumed you would see me sitting there.”
He nodded. “I should have. I’m just tired.”
She reached up and touched his burned cheek. “It takes some getting used to. I’d hate to think about having to do that with a mirror. Everything I shave I can see directly.” She leaned in to him then and kissed him.
He was slightly hesitant, but he knew why. He’d never really been kissed. She urged him to open his mouth. He took a deep breath, and when he did, she deepened the kiss. She put her arms around him and pulled him close. After only seconds, he joined her fully in the kiss. He put his arms around her, too. They began floating. He could stay like this forever.
When she finally broke the kiss, she grinned. “I hope I’m not being too forward, but I’m not sure how much time you have here, and I really like you, Los.” She brushed her lips across his. “No, I think I’m in love with you. I think I fell in love with you the minute I saw you.”
“I… The feelings are mutual Marisol. I love you.” He sat down on the bed heavily. He hung his head.
She sat down beside him and rested her hand on his leg. “Los. What’s wrong?”
“I… I’m royalty. I have to have a ‘royal’ relationship.” He swallowed hard. “I don’t like it, but K’al is going to push the issue. No, he is going to *force* the issue.”
She started laughing, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation. “Well, let’s see. When I was ten, I was crowed the Wheat Queen of Kansas.”
His eyes brightened. “The Queen of Wheat. Yes. The Queen of Wheat. That could work.”
She looked at him and realized he was serious. “It was a joke. It means nothing, Los.”
He shook his head. “Don’t tell me that. And don’t tell K’al that. Right now, it means the world… the universe. You have no idea.”
She smiled. “Very well. I’m the Queen of Wheat.” She bowed. Then she pulled him to her and put her arms around him. “Did you find out about my father?”
He nodded. “Yes. His name was Drull. He was…”
“One of Lord Nor’s lieutenants. Yes, I did a paper in school on the Smallville invasion. I know who he is. Interesting. Now if I could find out who my biological mother is. It’s no big thing, I suppose. My mom and dad were… my parents, but she still gave me life.” She smiled and caressed his cheek. “Kiss me, Los.”
He leaned toward her. “I’m… not very good at that…” He brushed his lips against hers. “I… I don’t have any experience in these matters.”
She kissed him on the end of his nose. “Are you saying I’m the first girl you have kissed?”
“Well, yes… for that kind of kiss… It was really quite wonderful.”
She smiled. “We call that a French kiss, Los. What do you call it?”
He blushed and shrugged. “There isn’t really a name for it.”
“Los. Like I said. I don’t know how much time we have.” He nodded. “Make love to me, Los. Please?”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, Mari. I will.” He blushed a little then smiled. “We.. uh.. need…”
She kissed him on his cheek. “Oh, I can take care of that. I have condoms in my room.” She took him by the hand. “Come on.”
“Condoms?” He wondered what those were. “You’ve *planned*… this?”
“Like I said, we don’t know how much time we have together.”
They entered her room and closed the door behind him. Los leaned towards her and murmured against her hair. “Yes, we don’t know how much time we have. And I am… so in love you. Make love to me, Mari.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Claire kept turning the note over in her hands that she had found in her dad’s book that was sitting on her bookshelf. She could hardly believe it. It was written on stationery that she had just gotten at Christmas. Yet it was in her mother’s handwriting. It *was* from her mother.
The note read: Claire, honey. I know something terrible has happened. I don’t know what, but I want to tell you know that I love you and that I wish I was there to hold you. Trust your daddy, honey. Trust him. Love, Mommy
A DVD was with the note, but it said basically the same thing - with the addition of Lois telling her that she wished she could hold her while she cried.. Claire swallowed hard. She couldn’t tell her daddy what had happened. She couldn’t *not* tell her daddy what happened. She sighed, started crying yet again, and went to find him. She found her dad sitting in his office reading the newspaper.
As soon as she entered the office, he stood up and hugged her. He could tell by her tear streaked face that she might be ready to talk. “Ready to talk to me?”
She nodded and handed him the note. He read it and looked up at her. “Is this what Jon told you about?”
She nodded. “Funny thing is though that it’s written on stationery I got last Christmas.”
He nodded. “Your mom made a visit here to congratulate Jenni and Zared.” He chose not to tell her about the other visit. When she looked incredulous and questions were written on her face, he held up his hand. “I don’t know how she did it. I just know she did. I saw her, but only Jenni, Zared, K’al, Los, and Lara spoke to her. K’al and Los didn’t realize the significance until later.” He handed the note back to her. “So trust me, honey. You *can* tell me *anything*. I promise.”
“You’ll be mad. It’s my fault.”
He smiled and shook his head no. “No, I won’t.”
She sighed and began quietly crying. “Alex raped me, daddy.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
