I’d like to thank Olympe for all of her suggestions for this part. I’d also like to apologize for the part being late. I must admit that I got sidetracked with ‘Merry Christmas, Lois Lane’ and ‘Happy New Year, Kal-El’. Of course, the holidays kept me somewhat busy, too. Hope you like this part… and you know I love feedback.
<Around speech indicates telepathic thought.>
~Around speech indicates that Kryptonian is being spoken.~
*This story and all of its characters are fictional.*
TOC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously:
K’al looked at them curiously. <You almost make me think that you are in love.>
Los separated the clothing but said nothing. He pretended all his concentration was on the clothing.
K’al repeated. <Los. Answer me.>
Los bit his lip. <Are you commanding me?>
<Do I have to?>
Los looked at him defiantly. <I like Marisol very much, and I plan on furthering our relationship.>
K’al stood up angrily. <When mother gave you permission to pursue your own relationship, she meant with someone from another ruling house. She’s *not* royalty. You must choose royalty. And if you don’t, then I will choose for you.> He raised an eyebrow. <I believe Lady Edrika has an eye for you.>
Los thought vehemently, <I won’t marry that woman! She’s almost old enough to be my mother! I won’t do it!>
<You will if I say you will.>
Los narrowed his eyes, turned and walked out of the room. He wouldn’t discuss it further.
~~~~~~~~~~
When Marisol 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.
~~~~~~~~~~
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 sighed and began quietly crying. “Alex raped me, daddy.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked in the room where Clark and Claire were sitting. He looked at Clark expectantly. Clark motioned for him to sit down. Clark was still holding Claire in his arms. “Well, Claire didn’t want you to know everything, but I disagreed. Los, she has a possible tubal pregnancy or an ovarian cyst. She was raped, but she also has had sexual relations. If she is pregnant, she says she thinks it occurred before the rape. Amanda was here and examined her, and she wanted to do a pelvic ultrasound, but I told her I figured you could use your xray vision to check.”
Los nodded and softly said, “I’m sorry, Claire.” She nodded against her dad’s chest. Los said, “Why don’t you just lie down right now and let me take a peek. Then I’ll see where we need to go from there. Okay?”
She nodded and lay down on the bed. Los smiled at her. “Well, you aren’t pregnant. And I’m assuming that’s good news, right?” She nodded vigorously. “You do have a small ovarian cyst. That could be due to the same defect that Jon, K’al, and I have. It sometimes affects females in such a manner. Your kidneys are fine, so I can’t readily tell is it’s from the same thing. You will need a couple of blood tests. Are you having pain?”
She shook her head no. “Then I don’t need to examine you until I get the tests back.”
She sighed heavily and sat up. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “Then why am I two weeks late?”
“It might be stress. It might be from the ovarian cyst. I’m more inclined to think it’s from stress. I can tell you more after the blood tests. Let me get something to draw blood with, and then I’ll start the tests.”
Clark bit his lip. “I take it you brought the data orb home with you then? I mean, it can do that kind of thing, can’t it?”
Los nodded, got up and walked out of the room.
Claire looked up at her dad. “Is that going to mean a kryptonite exposure?”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “I kind of doubt it. Jon just had surgery without kryptonite. Remember?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Los had successfully drawn blood and Claire was taking the blood back upstairs to get the test started. He ran into Hannah on her way back to Jon’s room… his and Jon’s room. He smiled at her. “Is Jon home?” She nodded and he followed her through the door. When he saw that Jon was asleep he used telepathy. <I imagine that you would like to stay with Jon, wouldn’t you? I can stay in another room.> He quickly set up the test.
She teased. <Uh-huh. What room would that be, Los? The den, where I’ve been staying, or the guest room that Mari has been staying in?> She didn’t expect Los’ bright blush. She continued. <You… Did you…> She smiled broadly. <Did you get that kiss?> He nodded. She winked at him. <And more, I bet.>
Los bit his lip and blushed. He left the tests to run. He decided not to answer the question. <Don’t bother my tests. Okay?>
She nodded. <Okay, Los.>
Los walked out of the room and walked toward the room Mari was in. As he walked by an open door, an arm shot out and pulled him in the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A New Hero: Part 41 The room was dark, but since the door was still partially open, he could see Mari’s grinning face. She pulled him into an embrace and hugged him tightly.
Upon Los’ entry, the person in the corner of the dark room dropped down behind some boxes.
Los kissed Marisol’s forehead. “Is this another bedroom?”
“No… well, maybe it was. Now it’s storage.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “What did your dad want?”
“Oh, umm… umm… I…” He swallowed hard. “It had to do with me being a healer.” He hoped she wouldn’t push for more. He wasn’t sure he could *really* keep any secrets from Mari at all. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to… but some secrets had to be kept when one was a healer.
“Oh, okay.” She ran her finger down his nose and then his lips. He closed his eyes tightly. He leaned against the wall and rubbed his back. She furrowed her brow and frowned. “Are you in more pain than you have been?”
“Umm… no. I just…” He shook his head. “It’s just that assisting with Jon’s surgery has made me think about it more than usual. I don’t relish the idea of having to have surgery myself.”
She sighed heavily. “As soon as Caitlyn comes home I want her to go ahead and examine you. Okay?”
He answered softly, “Okay.”
“When is she going to do your surgery?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Right away, I suppose.”
The person in the shadows wondered about the meaning of Los having surgery done by one called Caitlyn.
Mari put her hand on his chest. “I know you haven’t said so, but I can’t help but think that that Healer Zor-Te person delayed your surgery for some nefarious reason.”
Los rolled his eyes. “It’s a thought that I’ve had on occasion. But I can’t imagine why he would have done that. I suppose it could have been just because I disagreed with him on my treatment. He became upset when someone disagreed with his treatment - especially a young ‘start up’ like myself. I think he felt like his position as healer for the royals was threatened even though it wasn’t.”
She grinned. “That’s ‘upstart’, sweetie. But now that he’s dead, you are the healer for the royals, aren’t you?”
Los pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow. “I guess.” He leaned his forehead to hers. <I don’t want to leave. I want to be with you. Always. Would you consider coming with me? I mean, if I can’t stay here. I really don’t want you to have to deal with the hassles of being a part of the ruling house. And I don’t want to go. I feel like this is where I belong.>
With tears in her eyes, she nodded. <We don’t know if it *is* possible. But if it’s possible for me to go, then I will go. I will go where you go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people.>
<That’s beautiful, Mari.>
She smiled. <The last part was not my words. It was from the Book of Ruth in the Bible.> She bit her lip. “As I said earlier, we don’t know how long you’ll be here.” She rubbed the side of his cheek and whispered, “I… know we used protection before, but… I… Give me a baby… your baby. I have an idea you can assure that would happen.” She looked at him hopefully.
<You… want to have my baby? Even if it means I might not be here?>
She nodded solemnly. <Yes, I do.>
He kissed her. “Yes, I can assure a pregnancy… with our baby.”
The person in the shadows moved slightly and very nearly spoke. And that person was quite frustrated because they kept switching from spoken to telepathic speech, and Los was very effectively keeping any other telepathic person from ‘hearing’ their unvoiced conversation.
He looked up. “Did you hear something?”
Marisol smiled. “Just my thundering heartbeat.” She laid her head against his chest and sighed contentedly.
He twirled his hands through a length of her hair. “I love your hair. It’s so… stunning.” He smiled broadly. “And I love more than just your hair.”
“I love you, too.” She kissed him and put her arms around him. His hand drifted to her breast. She then pulled back from him and put her hand over his as if asking to him to keep her heart safe from all harm. “Hey, you didn’t tell me what you found out about Hannah’s father.”
He bit his lip. “Well, just don’t say anything about it yet. It’s… complicated. I mean, her mom was raped. But I just don’t think her biological father is a rapist. And neither does my dad.” He swallowed hard and whispered. “Her father is Ching… my mother’s husband.”
<~I’ll *kill* him!~>
Los’ head snapped up. “~Mother!~” He looked at Mari with fear. “My mother is here…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill Henderson had been by earlier and had brought an SVU officer with him. He and Clark had left Claire in the capable hands of a sexual victim’s unit policewoman, Marishka Mansfield, who had been quite deft and gentle in getting Claire to talk. Claire was now sleeping peacefully.
Bill had just returned to give Clark an update. Clark was relieved to hear that Alex Caudill was now in custody. “Bill… you’ll be able to keep the kryptonite issue quiet, won’t you?”
Bill nodded. “Yes, Clark. I see no reason why that should be of any consequences.”
Clark put his head down and rubbed his forehead. “I just don’t understand how this could have happened… I mean that he used kryptonite on her. She seemed sure that he didn’t know about her heritage.”
“Well, it seems that when we strip searched him that we found some nasty scars on one of his thighs. I asked him about it and he begrudgingly told me that he was in a dirt bike accident about four years ago out in Kansas. Said he landed in an area with a bunch of… as he called it ‘damn green and red crystals that were… very sharp’. But ‘very’ was not the word he used. It was crudely descriptive. He told me that some of those crystals are still embedded his leg. I have an idea that it’s probably kryptonite.” Clark’s eyes darkened. Bill smiled. “Don’t worry. I didn’t give him any idea about my thoughts. I didn’t tell anyone else either. And I’m damn well going to do my best to see that all those pieces of ‘crystal’ are removed - can’t imagine why they weren’t removed when he had the accident.”
Clark sighed heavily. “I would say that if I could get close enough to him that I could tell you if it’s kryptonite, but if some of it is red, it’s hard to tell what it will do to me.”
“Red? The red stuff does something different?”
“Yes. And it’s very unpredictable. It always seems to do something different. I think the same piece… or part of the same piece always does the same thing, but I’m not sure. I’ve been reluctant to do any experiments. One time my powers went haywire, and I darn near destroyed the townhouse where Lois and I were living. Another time it made me apathetic. Another time it made me feel euphoric.” He frowned. “Euphoria. I wonder… Claire told me that when she got around Alex she felt like she was in love and that he was the most wonderful person in the world. She even went out with him a couple of times after he raped her. If that’s what happened to her… that would explain it. The effects usually wear off, but… if she kept getting re-exposed...” He sighed. “But Chloe never felt that way around him, but she may have never been close enough. If the pieces are really small, that would make sense. Or it may have affected her in a different way.”
Bill raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.” He stood up. “Clark, you look tired. You have certainly been under a lot of stress. Get some rest.” Clark took his glasses off and ran his hand through his hair. Bill looked at him sideways. “You know… the glasses aren’t what does it Clark… It’s the attitude. I’m still just seeing Clark.” He turned to the door. “I’ll find my way out.”
Clark put his head down on his desk. Bill had certainly gotten it right when he said that he’d been under a lot of stress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On her way home, Caitlyn stopped by her house. She was surprised to find her brother Lyndon there. She quickly gathered up some clothing before she spoke to him. He traveled on business nearly all the time, and when he was in Metropolis he stayed at her place. He was watching television and she greeted him genially, “Lyndon. I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah, and just where have you been? I’ve been calling your cell phone and you haven’t answered.”
“Really? I’ve checked my messages. Oh, wait. I bet you don’t have my new number. Sorry.” She quickly wrote it down and then handed it to him.
He grumbled, “Oh. Where’s Meowoof? I’ve been missing her.”
Caitlyn smiled. “She’s with Clark.”
“Clark? And just who would Clark be?”
“Clark is a friend. And I have to go. Are you coming this weekend?”
He nodded and watched her walk out. He thought maybe his sister had lost her mind. She was acting weird.
Caitlyn was stopped in her driveway by her sister Brandy.
She smiled. “Well, I came by to see Lyndon, but I’m pleased to see you. You are a hard woman to find these days.”
Caitlyn shrugged. “Gotta run. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Wait… Don’t be in such a hurry. You will *never* believe who I ran into the other day.” Caitlyn cocked her head awaiting an answer. Brandilyn continued, “Well, I saw our older sister. I told her about this weekend, but I don’t know if she will come. I think she briefly considered it, but she said it would be too ‘hard’. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”
Caitlyn’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding? I don’t think I’d even *recognize* her now. I haven’t seen her since I was seventeen or eighteen. I don’t think I’d even know her if we sat down and had a conversation. And she might come this weekend? I thought she didn’t want much to do with us.”
“No, I’ve never thought that so much. But when mom died and she had to go live with her real dad, it was pretty hard on her. And *he* didn’t want her to see us much. And then it just got harder and harder for her to come see us. You know how that goes.” Caitlyn nodded in agreement. Brandy smiled. “But even with that, I’ve always thought something must have happened to cause her to suddenly not even contact us. I asked her about it and she said that something did happen, but she wouldn’t say what.” She laughed then. “And you always tease me about marrying one of the richest guys in Metropolis. Well, get this. She’s married to one of the richest guys in the world. She married Bruce Wayne.”
Caitlyn’s mouth dropped open and she stared at her sister. “I… uh… It seems she would have recognized my name.” She scratched her forehead. “Well, come to think of it, I’m not sure she ever knew my last name. And since I don’t think she knew my last name then she certainly couldn’t have recognized it. And then, too, I just barely spoke to her.”
Brandy’s eyes were wide. “You’ve talked to Marilyn?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Yeah. Her daughter, Hannah, is dating my…Clark’s son.”
“Clark?”
“Mmm… I need to go. Bye.” She jumped in her car and waved. She didn’t really want to tell any of her family about Clark until this weekend. She wanted her marriage to be a surprise.
She left Brandilyn shaking her head and wondering what was up with her little sister.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los looked out in the hall. It was clear and he quickly pulled his mother into Mari’s room. His lip trembled. “~Mother.~” His hands shook as he fell into protocol. He said flatly, “~Lady Zara, Beloved Mother, Regent of New Krypton, how be you this lovely evening?~”
“~I be fine, my son, Lord Los-El.~” She caressed his cheek. “~Los. You seem like you are terrified of me. Since when are you terrified of your mother?~”
Mari watched the two of them with wide eyes. She so wanted to know what they were saying.
Los sat down heavily on the bed. “~You are here to make us return to New Krypton.~” He hung his head and turned away from his mother. He said softly, “~I don’t want to return. I want to stay here. Take K’al, Rya, and their child and leave me.~” He murmured, “~You have a granddaughter - Jonna.~”
Zara was somewhat surprised. “~A… granddaughter?~” She sat down beside Los and sighed. “~So she *was* pregnant when they married. You couldn’t assure a male heir.~”
He shook his head numbly. “~But at least I examined her rather than Zor-Te. He would not have kept it quiet. As it is now, we can blame it on my inexperience.~” Then he looked at his mother’s stomach and frowned. “~How long have we been gone from your perspective?~”
“~Two mez.~”
“~You lost the baby then?~”
She nodded quietly. “~ I just did… On the trip here, but I was injured in the Thanae attack.~”
“~I’m sorry. I know you really wanted this baby. So Rya didn’t know you were injured? She didn’t mention it. And wait… You came by ship… By the Palace?~”
Zara sighed. “~Yes, I came by ship, but not the Palace. One of the smaller ships. And no, Rya didn’t know I was hurt. I couldn’t let anyone know I was injured. Ching didn’t even know at first. Only Healer Zor-Te knew - before he was killed. And later, Healer Mak. She’s on the ship.” She hung her head. “I had thought… hoped that the baby was going to be okay… I had thought the medication to prevent the cramping was working.” She tried to brighten. “Is Rya okay? How long has it been from your perspective?~”
“~Yes, Rya is okay. Her labor and delivery went well.~” He furrowed his brow. “~Mak. Mak took care of you when you lost the baby? She barely has any experience. She’s not even through school and her education has progressed somewhat slowly. I don’t think she’s even taken her test to be called a Healer yet. Why wasn’t there someone with more experience with you?~”
“~Yes, you are right. We are calling her ‘Healer’ as a matter of courtesy and protocol because she is serving about the ship. We couldn’t spare anyone else. And she was pretty scared because I bled a lot. But I’m fine now.~” She shook her head sadly. “~You didn’t tell me how long.~”
“~This is the fourth day.~”
She looked at him with her mouth hanging open. “~And in four days you have decided you don’t want to return to New Krypton? You must know that isn’t possible. Not without a male heir. You are still the second in line to be ruler. And it seems Lady Edrika is quite interested in you.~”
Mari recognized the name ‘Edrika’ and snorted.
Los looked at her with twinkling eyes. He mouthed, “I love only you.” He turned back to his mother and frowned. “~Not you, too. *Lord* K’al-El is threatening to *make* me marry her. You *promised* that I could pick my own mate.~”
Zara sighed. “~Edrika has told me that she knows what K’al and Rya did and that she also knows of your subterfuge. And, even though she may have been bluffing, you have now confirmed that what she has said is true.~”
Los stood up and angrily said, “~So you are telling me that I have to pay for K’al’s impropriety? And that you would *let* this woman blackmail you?~” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “~I have asked the Queen of Wheat for her hand in marriage. She has accepted. And if you didn’t get it from what you heard us say in the storage room, the relationship has already been consummated.~”
“~A mere concubine,~” Zara quietly said. She closed her eyes tightly feeling her son’s pain. But she would do what she had to do. Sometimes duty extracted a high price.
Los leaned toward his mother and stated calmly, “~You are trying to outlaw concubines. I’m hurt that you would say such a thing. This sounds more like something K’al… or better yet Ching would say. I suppose the ‘protector’ is with you?~”
She nodded. “~I’m sorry my son. You really love her, don’t you?~”
Los nodded. “~Yes, mother, I do.~”
“~Well, it’s highly unusual for such a marriage - even with royalty - to be accepted by the Council of Elders.~” She sighed heavily. “~Los, you must marry someone from one of the royal houses. You know this is so. I thought you would have already shown interest in someone by now. I certainly didn’t expect you to be married, but I did expect you to show interest. And now you want to marry an Earth woman? Normally there wouldn’t be anything really wrong with marrying someone from another planet, but… you are a Lord. You must behave in a certain manner. And she could never return with you. She would not be able to survive.~”
He looked at Mari then back at his mother. “~Do you think you can speak in English?~”
She nodded. “~But I don’t think this conversation is for her to hear.~”
“She is Drull’s daughter. Her mother was probably raped. And you have already heard me speak of Ching’s daughter. And her mother was most assuredly raped - quite brutally. Father thinks there are more hybrids - perhaps many more. ~And I know of at least one already living on New Krypton. His mother evidently had a relationship with a man from Earth.~”
Zara was shocked. “Drull’s daughter?” Her eyes were sad. “~As you said, Ching is no rapist. I suspect that Lord Nor did this to undermine my faith in Ching. You know how you were conceived. This is probably how this other girl was conceived also. The rape was probably a cover.~”
“~Probably.~”
“~And the matter will be investigated thoroughly - telepathically. If my husband is guilty then he will suffer the consequences.~”
“~Ching is a strong telepath. It will be difficult.~”
“~He’s not that strong. Not if there are enough telepaths questioning him.~”
“~I...~” He turned his head. The data orb was calling him. “~I have to go. Being a healer calls.~” He got up and strolled out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Caitlyn got home, she was still amazed. Hannah was her niece. When she walked into the house, she stopped in the kitchen to get something to drink. Hannah was there and was getting a bottle of water out of one of the refrigerators. Caitlyn sighed nervously. “Hand me one of those. Will you?”
Hannah handed her a bottle of water and smiled. “How are you?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Okay. Hmm… Your mom… Has she told you about her siblings?”
“Siblings? Yeah, she’s mentioned it once or twice. But she doesn’t much like to talk about it. Says she hasn’t stayed in touch like she should and she feels guilty about it. It upsets her to talk about it. She said she’s not even sure she’d recognize anybody but the girl that’s closest to her age. Why do you ask? How did you know to even ask for that matter?”
“Well, I know the feeling about not thinking you’d recognize your own sister. Because your *mom* is my sister, and I didn’t recognize her.”
Hannah was confused. “Mom’s maiden name wasn’t Kira. Were you married before?”
Caitlyn shook her head no. “Marilyn and I have different fathers so her name was never Kira. My mom and her dad got divorced when Marilyn was a baby.”
Hannah nodded slowly. “Yes, I know. Oh, wow! You’re my aunt.” She went to her and hugged her. “Wow.”
Caitlyn hugged her back. “Yeah, wow.” Then she proceeded to tell Hannah how she had come to know that Marilyn was her half-sister.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisol timidly sat down beside Zara. “So you are Los’ and K’al’s mother. You… do understand me, don’t you?” Zara nodded. Marisol softly said, “I can see the resemblance.”
Zara simply stated, “Yes. They look a lot like me.”
Marisol pleaded with Zara. “Lady Zara. Please don’t make him leave. Or… let me come with him. Please.”
Zara took her hand. “You love him so much. And he loves you. How has this happened so quickly?”
Marisol quickly explained how they had they had shared of themselves telepathically, and that that was how they knew each other so well. “But we fell in love at first sight.”
Zara smiled sympathetically. She understood being in love with someone that you might not be able to be with. And she doubted that Marisol and Los could ever be together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah flew off to Gotham City to see her mom. She walked in Wayne Manor to find Marilyn in the study reading a book. “Hey, mom. Dad out being batty again?”
Marilyn raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t let him hear you calling him ‘batty’. You’ve never actually met the Batman. Believe me. He’s not your dad. He’s scary as Hell.”
“A different person, huh?”
Marilyn nodded. “Very much so. How’s Jon?”
“He’s doing well. Hmm… You know Clark got married, right?”
Marilyn shook her head no. “Did you tell me that? I’ve been distracted - worried about your dad. He got stabbed again last night.”
Hannah frowned. “Is he hurt badly?”
“No. The armor protected him for the most part, but I still worry. He’s getting too old to do this.”
Hannah bit her lip. “I think you met her - Clark’s wife - briefly. But evidently you didn’t recognize her. She didn’t recognize you, either. I’m not sure if you actually knew her name - at least her last name. Remember his doctor?”
Marilyn nodded. “I think so. Is that who he married?”
Hannah nodded and sat down beside her mom. “Her name is Caitlyn Kira. She saw Brandy earlier today and that’s how she found out who you were.”
“My sister? Clark married my sister?” Marilyn sighed sadly. “Oh, my. It seems you know her better than I do.”
Hannah smiled. “She’s really nice, mom. I told her I was coming to see you. She wanted me to encourage to come to the family gathering this weekend.” She took her mom’s hand. “Go. I’m sure you would enjoy it.” At her mom’s hesitant look, she pleaded. “Please. I know it would be hard, but I don’t think you’d regret it. Family is important. You know?” She smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked in Jon’s room to check Claire’s blood tests. Caitlyn was examining Jon. She looked up and smiled. Jon gave him a sleepy grin. Los said, “How is he?”
“He’s doing well. I took out half of the sutures, and I’m going to leave the dressings off.” She looked up at Los worriedly. “Los, what’s wrong?”
Los just shook his head sadly. “I need to speak to father.” He turned and left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked out of the Jon’s room and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t seen K’al walking down the hall.
He touched Los on the shoulder. “Los, are you waiting for me? Are you ready to talk?”
Los shook his head no. “No. I…”
K’al pulled Los into the room that he and Rya were sharing. Rya and Jonna weren’t there. As soon as Los was inside the room, K’al slammed the door. He thought angrily, <~You are avoiding me, brother.~>
Los closed his eyes in frustration. He figured he might as well get it over with. But he wasn’t telling K’al that their mother was here. It was quite obvious that he didn’t know. He frowned. <Father asked us to use English, so do so.>
K’al sighed. <If you insist. Now why have you been avoiding me?>
<I haven’t been avoiding you, K’al. I told you I was exhausted. The only reason I got out of bed is because father needed me for… for professional reasons.>
K’al was concerned. <Is father okay?>
Los swallowed hard. <Yes. It didn’t have to do with father. I can’t speak of it.>
K’al was quiet momentarily, then continued. <Very well. And what else were you doing in bed?>
<What do you want, K’al? You are not using the air of my brother. You are acting like the ruler of New Krypton - an upset ruler.>
K’al softened and hung his head. <I don’t mean to be harsh, Los. I’m worried about the Thanae. I should be there. I’m worried about mother. I…> He sighed. <Lady Edrika has approached me and is quite interested in marrying you. I think that you should consider it. You’ve talked to her. You’ve told me that you have enjoyed your conversations. Would a relationship with her be so bad?>
Los sighed. <Yes, she is nice enough to talk to, but I am not attracted to her. She’s… what? Twelve Earth years older than me?>
<And that is a reason to not have a relationship with her? Her family is politically important. It would be a good marriage.>
Los thought forcefully, <I’m not interested. What is this all about, K’al?> He paused and said softly, “I told you that I plan on furthering my relationship with Marisol. She is the Queen of Wheat.”
“The…” K’al paused in thought. He was both happy and sad. Happy that his brother had found love. Sad that Edrika was potentially a venomous snake that was going to cause the House of El no small amount of problems. <Marisol is royalty?>
<Yes, she is. Do I have your blessing?>
K’al bit his lip and nodded. <Yes.> He hugged his brother. <But be prepared. Edrika may cause all of us problems.>
Los almost felt bad about deceiving his brother, but he would not be a pawn for Edrika. And he loved Marisol. And now he had his brother’s blessing. And he had the feeling that his mother would be furious. <Thank you, K’al. Why may Edrika cause problems?>
K’al sighed heavily. <I suspect she knows - or think she knows about mine and Rya’s… liaisons.>
<Why would she know this? Surely you were discreet.>
<Always. But she has… hinted. But perhaps she is bluffing.>
Los gave a short laugh. <Most likely, she is bluffing, K’al.>
<I hope so. I…> He shook his head. <Since Healer Zor-Te is dead, you are now the chief healer. Considering that, who will you choose to do your surgery? I heard you and Zor-Te arguing about it again just before we left. Shouldn’t you trust… or have trusted his judgement more? He does have experience in treating this ailment.>
Los opened the door. <K’al. Zor-Te’s stubbornness has left me with damage that is probably irreparable. I know you aren’t aware of it, but I’m in constant pain. And as for my surgery, Caity will be doing that before we leave.>
K’al nodded and opened the door for Los to leave. “Come see Rya and me later, please - professionally.”
Los smiled. “Yes, I will. And thank you again.” He went to find his father to tell him of Claire’s tests.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah walked into the Kent home and quickly scanned for Caitlyn. She was with Jon. She quickly walked up the stairs and entered the room. Caitlyn was checking Jon’s IV, but he was sound asleep. “Hi, Aunt Caitlyn.”
Caitlyn smiled at her. “Hi, honey.”
“How’s Jon? His color looks better.”
Caitlyn’s eyes smiled. “He’s doing great. I wish that Clark had done just half as well as Jon. The kryptonite radiation made a big difference, I suppose.”
Hannah bit her lip and looked hopeful. “Is it okay to leave him?” Caitlyn nodded. Hannah took her by the hand. “I want you to come to Gotham City with me and talk my mom into coming to the get-together this weekend.
Caitlyn seemed a little unnerved. “Umm… Sure… Okay.”
“And umm… I hope it’s okay if I come? I’ve always wanted to get to know my mom’s family.”
“Oh, of course you can come, honey.”
Caitlyn and Hannah walked to the balcony, Hannah changed into the White Tiger, picked Caitlyn up and they took off into the air.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los found his father in his office. His head was still on his desk. Los, thinking he was asleep, touched him on the shoulder.
Clark quietly said in a very awake voice, “Yes, Los.”
“Father. Claire’s tests were okay. She does not have the defect. The cyst is probably nothing to worry about.”
Clark looked up sadly. “Thank you, Los. Can you examine her tomorrow? She’s finally getting some decent sleep.”
Los’ lip trembled. “If I’m still here. Mother is upstairs.”
Clark was alarmed. “*Zara* is *upstairs*?”
Los sat down heavily. “Father, I want to stay here. I don’t want to return to New Krypton. I feel like this is where I am meant to be. I feel like I belong.”
Clark gave him a tired smile. “Well, you know you are welcome to stay, but isn’t that going to cause a big problem?”
“Probably. But I want to stay. And K’al has given me his blessing in regards to marrying Marisol.”
“Really? How…”
“Hmm…” Los smiled broadly. <Didn’t you know Mari is the Queen of Wheat?>
Clark chuckled and put his hand on Los’. “I’ll do what I can to help. I suppose I should go talk to her. Or perhaps ‘Lord Kal-El’ should speak to her formally.”
“Later.” Los frowned. “I think mother is also going to try to push me into a marriage with Lady Edrika.”
Clark furrowed his brow. “What of her promise? What of Mari?”
Los bit his lip. “It seems Lady Edrika may know of K’al’s and Rya’s impropriety and of my lies. I may have to pay for all of it. And even though K’al’s blessing is very important - it’s huge - mother can still nix anything that K’al has said.” He stood up and swallowed. “I guess as you say here: I have to go face the music.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
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