This part is rated PG. And as always, you know I love feedback!
<Around words denotes telepathic thought.>
~Around words denotes Kryptonian speech.~
Here's the
TOC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Part 42
Chloe abruptly sat up and started dressing quickly. “Your mom’s home. Get dressed!”
“She’s not due home for a couple hours. I don’t hear anything.” He lay back on the bed.
Chloe hissed, “I’m telling you she’s home.”
When Ben heard his mom’s voice calling for him and Chloe, he got out of bed and began dressing.
The tall red-haired woman named Beth Winters just knew that her son and his girlfriend were in his room. They should have been in the family room. They weren’t. But Chloe's purse still was. She would give them a second to at least get presentable so she called, “Chloe! Ben!” It wasn’t long after that that she threw open Ben’s bedroom door. He was pulling on his shirt. She looked between the two of them and shook her head. She huffed, “Ben. I told you…”
He interrupted, “Well, Mom… it’s okay now.”
Chloe nodded in agreement. “I’m sixteen now.” She looked at Ben and rolled her eyes. “Big mouth.”
He shrugged. “Sorry.”
Beth sighed and said, “You are both too young for this. But telling you that is like…” She shook her head in frustration. “I’ve been there… I *know* what you think.” She looked over and saw the package of condoms on Ben’s bedside table. “Well, at least you were responsible *this* time.” She looked between the two of them and said crisply, “Kitchen. Now!” She turned and walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~
K’al smiled. “~I take it you want to do this now?~” Mari and Los both nodded eagerly. He raised an eyebrow. “~I’m not sure why you are in such a hurry, but okay… Well, it’s not a gold rope, but that doesn’t always have to be used.~” He bound their wrists together and then began to speak. Los began to translate the ceremony for Marisol. K’al droned on and on. Los and Mari were getting really nervous about Zara waking up when, finally, he ended with, “~I declare this union complete, its consummation sanctioned by the law.~” He smiled.
Los hugged his brother, who was taken a bit aback, and smiled. “You have no idea what this means to us.”
Mari hugged him, too. “Yes, you have absolutely no idea.”
K’al waved them out of the room. “Go.”
Mari and Los walked out and stopped in the hall. <He doesn’t know, does he?>
Los shook his head no. <No, he doesn’t. He’s probably going to be furious with me.>
She grinned and pulled him to her. <So I guess this means we are married under Kryptonian law?> He nodded. She kissed him lightly. <Now we need to make it official on Earth, too. But for now, this is enough.>
Los nodded and kissed her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A New Hero: Part 43 Chloe Kent and Ben Winters were getting a major lecture by his mom. Chloe was biting her lip and trying to keep a straight face. She didn’t think it mattered *what* Beth said. Things weren’t going to change between her and Ben. Ben evidently agreed because he finally laughed. He took his mom’s hand. His eyes twinkled. “Mom, I know you are trying to discourage us, but I don’t think it’s going to work.” His face turned dreamy. “It was just too wonderful. And I love her. And she loves me.”
Beth sat back in her chair and sighed heavily. “I just want you to understand the difficulties that an underage pregnancy could cause.” She looked at Chloe. “Didn’t your brother have to get married? You should understand a little more about this.” Chloe responded with a wide-eyed shrug. Beth continued, “Well, no I don’t guess you really realize what this could mean yet.” She looked back at Ben. “I can ground you, you know. I can take your car keys.”
Ben bit his lip nervously and croaked, “But you won’t, will you Mom?” Chloe stood up, but Beth snapped, “I didn’t say you could leave, young lady.”
Chloe bit her lip and swallowed hard. She pointed towards the bathroom. “I gotta go. Bad. I’ll be right back.” She was glad that there was a large window in the bathroom that she knew would open because, in fact, she had heard a car wreck down the street. She just hoped no one was seriously hurt because she didn’t know how she would explain a long absence.
Ben frowned at his mom and watched as Chloe walked down the hall. When she closed the bathroom door, he said, “Don’t snap at Chloe. I don’t like it.”
She took his hand. “Ben. I’m not trying to be hard on you. Really. But you must know that I understand what can happen better than most people. And Chloe needs to understand it, too.” She blew her breath out in frustration. “I have a feeling you’ve wanted to say something more during this conversation.” She looked at him expectantly. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know, Mom. And I do. I was... actually worried that Chloe might *be* pregnant, but she assures me that’s impossible.”
She was concerned. “Why did you think she was pregnant, Ben?”
He shrugged. “Well, she’s pretty thin. And... well, her abdomen seemed... not as flat as before. And like I told you, we weren’t... umm... responsible before. We didn’t use protection.” He smiled. “But it’s okay. She hasn’t missed any periods.”
“Well, Ben. I don’t want to upset you, but sometimes a woman can still have ‘regular’ bleeding. It’s abnormal, but it can appear to be a normal period - especially to a young girl.”
Ben’s eyes widened and he softly said, “No.”
Beth raised an eyebrow and shook her head in acknowledgement that what she had said was true. “Is anything else going on that would make you think she’s pregnant?”
“Umm... She ate chocolate ice cream with pickle relish as a topping.”
She grinned. “I rather went for pistachio ice cream and dill pickles when I was pregnant with you. Anything else? Nausea? Going to the bathroom a lot?”
He twisted his mouth. “Well, the last couple of times we went to a movie, she had to go to the bathroom mid-movie. She’s never done that before.”
She patted his hand. “Well, it sounds like you need to try to talk her into taking a pregnancy test. But since she says she is still having periods - or bleeding - that might not be easy.” She sighed. “Anymore signs? Increased appetite? Tender breasts?”
Ben’s mouth opened slightly and he raised an eyebrow. “Tender breasts? Appetite? Hmm...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chloe, as the Blue Fairy, touched down by the accident. It was a one car accident. The lady had hit a guard rail. She was drunk, but she was fine. No one else was hurt. She was getting ready to pull away from the scene. Chloe, not wanting her to cause another accident - potentially involving another car this time - took the keys from the lady. This caused the lady to start swinging at her.
Chloe easily moved out of the way. Chloe said calmly, “Now, now. Just calm down. You can’t have them.” She did a quick look around and saw a police car sitting a block away at the pizza shop. Well, they obviously didn’t know about the wreck yet, and she hated to interrupt them, but she just couldn’t stand there and wait for them.
She quickly flew to the restaurant and walked in to where the two officers were sitting. She dropped the keys in front of them and quickly explained the situation. Then she said, “She’s pretty drunk and she might try to hurt anyone that tries to help her, so I’d hurry. Hate to ruin your dinner though.” With that, she was off.
She came back in through the window to hear Ben knocking on the door. “Chloe! Chloe, are you okay?” He’d evidently just started knocking because he didn’t sound like he was ready to break the door down.
“I’ll be right out, honey. Just give me another minute.” She sighed. Now she really did have to ‘go’.
She walked out and Ben was standing there waiting for her. “I got worried about you. Are you okay?”
She nodded and walked toward the kitchen. She looked around. “Where’s your mom?”
He threw up his hands. “Somebody got sick at work and they called her back in. They sent her home early because they weren’t busy then called her back out. She really couldn’t say no. Come sit with me in the family room. We need to talk.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los pulled Mari towards the downstairs guest room. She was almost struggling to keep up and finally just started floating. “What... what are you doing, Los.”
“We have to consummate... Now!” After closing the door behind him he started stripping off his clothing. Mari just stood there staring at him. He took a deep breath and motioned for her to do the same. “Well, don’t get shy now.”
She rolled her eyes. “You are *so* romantic,” she said sarcastically.
A bit frustrated, he said, “I’ll be romantic later. I’m telling you... we have to do this before Mother or K’al find out. Now!” He walked to her and started taking her clothing off.
She started helping him. “Okay. Okay. Let’s just hope you aren’t going to have a problem with performance anxiety.”
“Hmm... Well, seeing you like this... What do you think?” He motioned to other parts of his body.
She giggled. “Good thing you are still a teenager.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chloe sighed and followed Ben to the family room. She sat down on the couch and giggled. “I’m hungry. Let’s order a pizza.” She raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Then maybe we’ll have time for another trip to your bedroom.” She picked up the phone and started ordering from the same shop she had just been in. She ordered an extra large pizza with all of her favorites, a large salad, two orders of breadsticks, and an order of cinnamon sticks. Ben’s mouth dropped open at the amount she’d ordered. Chloe looked up. “I thought we could share the salad. Is that enough other stuff?”
He nodded and thought that it was more than enough. “Uh.. yeah, Chloe. I think it’s plenty. We just ate not long ago. And you are hungry again?” He was also worried about paying for more food. He was a little old-fashioned, and he never liked for Chloe to have to pay for their meals. Unfortunately, it happened more often than he liked. He fidgeted but couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
She put her hand on his. “It’s okay. I’ll pay for it.” She smiled broadly and thought about how she and Claire had watched over the graduation party. Their dad had paid them handsomely. “Claire and I helped Daddy with something, and he paid us quite nicely for it.” At Ben’s half frown, she patted his hand. “I know. I know. You don’t like it. But you really ought to let me pay more often. I get a fairly decent allowance you know.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know.” He shrugged thinking that must be nice. He hadn’t gotten an allowance since he was sixteen. He worked for his money. He didn’t really mind because he knew his mom had a hard time, but he just wondered what it would be like for his mom to not have to struggle with the finances all the time. He thought that even if Chloe decided to go to work herself that she might still get an allowance, but he wasn’t sure. Her family never acted rich or anything, but they sure had a huge home. He wondered if it was paid for by the life insurance from Chloe’s mom’s death. He knew that, unlike his father, Lois Lane had been wise enough to have life insurance. He sighed. “Yeah, you can pay this time.” He hung his head. “Actually it’s more like you have to. I paid the electric bill for mom, so I’m kind of broke until my next payday.”
She played with his hair and twirled it around her fingers. “I’m sorry you all have it so rough, Ben. I can’t imagine what that would be like.”
“Umm... well... yeah. It’s rough.” He shrugged. “But hey, we survive. I think things will be better when mom gets through college. And someday, if I ever have a lot of money, I want to buy her a nice house.” He glanced over at the stack of bills and then quickly looked away. On top of the ongoing bills, she was still trying to pay off medical bills from Micky’s illness. Insurance just hadn’t paid for everything.
“Ah, Ben. That’s so sweet.” Although he’d tried to hide where he had looked, she’d noticed. She said softly, “Ben, things are a lot worse than you let on, aren’t they?”
He pursed his lips and muttered, “Mom doesn’t like to talk about it. Says it’s nobody’s business, and she doesn’t want people feeling sorry for us. We do okay.”
Chloe picked up her purse and pulled out the crisp one hundred dollar bill that her dad had given her. She held it out to Ben. He firmly shook his head no. “Ben, honey, take it. Pay something on one of those bills. Your mom doesn’t have to know where the money came from.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Just a friendly benefactor helping out, huh?”
She nodded and kissed his cheek. “Something like that.” Someone knocked on the door and she got up to answer it. She quickly paid for the food then set it down on the coffee table. She went to the kitchen to get some glasses with ice for the pop she had ordered. She handed him one. “You’ll take it, won’t you Ben?”
He looked at his shoes and his lip trembled. “Mom... is supposed to start taking summer classes. She’s got the money for tuition, but she doesn’t know how she will pay for the books. She asked my grandfather, but he couldn’t help.” He looked up, determined. “So, yeah. But just this once.”
She smiled at him. “Ben, has your mom tried to get a scholarship? I mean, I know she gets a small grant and she has loans, but you’ve said that doesn’t pay for everything.”
He bit his lip. “Scholarships are harder to get when you are an older student. She’s applied for a few but has never gotten one.” He watched her in amazement as she started gobbling pizza.
“Well, 'abe she tried the Sooberman Founvation? They 'abe scholarshibs for older students.” She drained her glass and filled it back up. “Some of them go unused every year.”
Ben cocked his head sideways as he picked up his first slice of pizza. Chloe had already eaten three slices... plus several breadsticks and a good portion of the salad. “Uhh... No, I don’t think she has. Your dad... makes you volunteer there, doesn’t he?”
“Doesn’t make me. But he encourages us. I enjoy it. All I do is some filing. No big thing.” She smiled at him. “I could put in a good word.”
He swallowed hard. “I.. uh... forget that you know the big guy.”
Chloe blushed lightly. “Well, umm... He’s... uh... he knows my dad.”
“But you’ve *met* him. I can’t believe that I forgot you know him. Especially since I saw him at your house on Sunday. Wow. He’s really tall, huh? Taller than me.”
Chloe furrowed her brow. “Well, no actually he’s not, Ben. You’re 6’ 5”. He’s... umm... I don’t know. Maaybbbee 6’ 2”” She rolled her eyes thinking that her dad was six feet when he stood barefooted, but everyone always thought Superman was so much taller. “He doesn’t make decisions on the scholarships, but he can still put in a good word. I’ll check on getting your mom an application.”
He nodded. “Thanks. Umm... Chloe, have you noticed your appetite lately? I mean...” He motioned towards the pizza as she picked up another piece.
She frowned. “Are you afraid I’ll get fat? I won’t.”
“Well... That’s not why I’m asking. Hmm... I’m still worried that you might be... you know... pregnant.”
“Oh, Ben!” She threw up her arms. “For Pete’s sake. You worry too much. I’m *not* pregnant.”
He crossed his arms. “Just listen to me. Mom told me that sometimes you can have bleeding all through a pregnancy.”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open in horror. “You *told* your mom you thought I was pregnant!! Ben! How *could* you!?”
He took her hands. “Now just listen to me.” Chloe frowned and her breaths were short and rapid as if she might start crying. “Shhh....” He pulled her to him. “Your appetite has increased - a lot. You are eating strange things like chocolate ice cream with pickle relish. Your...” He stuttered, “Well, I know tonight was just our second time, but I have touched your breasts before. You... Your breasts are tender.” She gave him a look like ‘how do you know’. He nodded. “You flinched a couple of times when I touched you there, and I really tried to be very gentle after that” He whispered soothingly, “And you are more emotional. Those are all signs of a pregnancy, Chloe.”
She pulled away and looked at him as she chewed her lip. “PMS.” She pouted. “Do you *want* me to be pregnant, Ben? I mean, that seems to be the case, considering the way you are acting.”
He closed his eyes tightly. “No, of course not. But if you are... then you need to see a doctor - especially since our first time was in January, and now it’s June. It’s been five months. So humor me and take a pregnancy test.”
She stood up and grabbed her purse. “I’m not pregnant! I’m going home!”
He sighed heavily, stood up and picked up his keys. “Just think about it. Okay?” he pleaded.
She narrowed her eyes and continued to pout. “I’ll walk home.” She strode towards the door.
Ben grabbed her and said, “Chloe! Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t walk home alone. It could be dangerous.”
Even though she knew it was unlikely for her to get hurt, Ben didn’t know that. She relaxed a little. She nodded curtly and followed him towards the door.
He paused at the door and pulled her close and kissed her. He softly said, “I love you, Chloe.” She eagerly kissed him back. Instead of taking her home, Ben picked her up and took her to his bedroom. Chloe didn’t protest. Knowing that because of her dense molecular structure, she actually weighed a heck of lot more than she looked, she deliberately decreased the amount of weight he had to carry. She laid her head on his shoulder and breathed in the scent that was Ben Winters. She loved him so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark was headed towards the room where Zara was when he saw Caitlyn and Hannah walk out of the master suite. He wondered why Hannah had been there but said nothing. He watched as Hannah entered Jon’s room. Then he pulled his wife into his arms and leaned his head on top of hers. He just stood holding her.
She stepped back slightly and looked into his face. “Clark. What’s wrong?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve got to talk to Zara. Then I’ll tell you more.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Zara? As in Lady Zara?” Then a look of fear crossed her face.
He murmured, “Don’t worry. She’s not here for me.”
She let out a sigh of relief. She ran her hand along his cheek bone. “Did you know that Jon and Hannah were engaged?”
He drew her into his embrace again. “I knew he’d asked.”
She smiled. “I want to talk to you about Marilyn, but I guess that will have to wait.”
He frowned ever so slightly in confusion. “Marilyn Wayne?” At her nod, he cocked his head. “Okay, honey. We’ll talk later.” He turned and headed toward the second floor guest room where he knew Zara to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah walked into Jon’s bedroom and smiled at him. He smiled back. “Where have you been?”
She lay down and snuggled up beside him. “Is this okay? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine.”
She ran her hand along his arm. “I was visiting mom.” She proceeded to tell him the entire tale.
Jon raised an eyebrow. “So you are telling me that my step-mother is your aunt. Weird.”
“Yes. I suppose it is. I know you haven’t really been invited, but do you want to go with us this weekend?”
“If it’s okay with Caitlyn.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Claire was raped.”
She felt nauseous. “Oh, Jon. Nooo...”
He bit his lip. “I wish it wasn’t real, but unfortunately it is.” He scooted down in the bed. “Hannah. Can you check on getting me something for pain? And then I think I’ll go to sleep.”
She floated off the bed to decrease any discomfort she might cause Jon. “Okay, honey. I’ll be right back.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah stepped out into the hallway and looked around to find Caitlyn. She found her in the master suite and knocked on the door.
Caitlyn had just pulled her shirt off. She was anxious to get into more comfortable clothing. “Who is it?”
“Hannah.”
“Come in.” When Hannah walked in, Caitlyn smiled at her. She was putting one of Clark’s t-shirts on. When she had it on, she pulled the front of it to her nose and breathed Clark’s scent in deeply.
Hannah giggled. “It’s kind of nice to wear your fella’s shirts, huh?” Caitlyn grinned and nodded. Hannah continued, “Jon needs something for pain. I know I gave him something earlier, but you’d told me how much to give.”
Caitlyn nodded. “I need to examine him anyway. He’s healing rapidly, so I may need to take more sutures out.” She walked toward the door and she and Hannah headed to Jon’s room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark took a deep cleansing breath. He took off his glasses and knocked on the door.
After a moment, Zara answered in Kryptonian. “~Enter.~”
Clark thought it almost sounded like she had just awakened. When he opened the door and walked in, he realized that she had indeed been asleep.
Zara rubbed her eyes and sat up. “~Lord Kal-El, How be you this...~” She shook her head. “Sorry. Old habits.”
He sat down in a chair. He was concerned. “~Zara. We can speak in Kryptonian if you are more comfortable with it. Are you okay? You seem a bit pale.~”
She rubbed her abdomen. “~I.. um... just had a miscarriage. I’m having some cramps.~”
He started to ask if he should call Los, but had the feeling that he didn’t want to do that. He was pretty sure that Los and Mari were involved in activities that they didn’t want interrupted. “~My wife is a physician. Should I call her?~”
“~Your... wife? I thought Lois worked at The Daily Planet.~”
Clark took a deep breath and softly said, “~Lois died a few years ago.~”
“~Oh, Kal. I’m so, so sorry. I know how much you loved her.~”
He gave her short nod. “~It’s been hard. I miss her so much. And being a single father isn’t easy.~” He cocked his head sideways. “~Do you need to see a physician?~”
She shook her head no and handed him the ice pack. “~But I would be grateful if you could freeze this for me.~”
“~Hmm... I’ll get you another. I don’t think I can right now.~” He stood up and turned to leave.
Clark left Zara to wonder why he couldn’t freeze the ice pack for her. He’d left the door open and a beautiful black cat with big green eyes entered the room. It jumped up beside Zara. Zara smiled. She remembered these animals and the lovely purring noises that they made.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Hannah and Caitlyn walked back into Jon’s room, they found Jama, Brook, and Lara there again. And, of course, Meowoof was still lying at Jon’s feet. She had never left him. Two Bark had left for a while, but came padding back in with Bear just as Caitlyn was shutting the door. Jon was showing his incisions to his baby sisters who were oohing and awing.
Caitlyn grinned at all of them. “You three scoot. Jon needs something for pain, and I need to examine him again.” She raised an eyebrow. “And Lara and Brook... isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Lara bounced and said, “We wanted to see Jon!” She turned and skipped out of the room and was immediately followed by Jama and Brook.
Caitlyn quickly gave Jon something for pain then began to check his incisions. “You are doing well, Jon.”
He nodded. “Good. Can I get rid of the catheter? One of the IV’s?”
She chuckled. “I’ll take out the IV in your arm. The catheter stays.”
He crinkled his nose in frustration. “Oh, okay, Doc.”
She mock fussed at him. “You quit calling me Doc. Caitlyn, you hear?”
Jon winked at her. “Yes, Doc Caitlyn. I will...”
Caitlyn laughed good-naturedly and quickly removed the IV in his arm. “If you need me, I’ll be around here somewhere. Call me on the intercom or send Hannah.” Jon and Hannah both nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caitlyn saw Clark walk down the hall. She smiled brightly upon seeing her husband. “That was quick.”
He shrugged. “Not done.” He held up the ice pack. “I was getting her an ice pack. She’s having some cramps from just having had a miscarriage.”
Caitlyn frowned in concern. “Is she okay?”
“She says she is, but she’s kind of pale.” He knocked on Jon’s door. When Hannah answered, he held out the ice pack. “Freeze this, please.” She nodded and did so. Clark turned and closed the door. He kissed Caitlyn lightly and walked back down the hall and re-entered the room that Zara was in. He handed her the ice pack.
She was stroking Sapphire’s sleek body. She smiled at Clark. “~Thank you. What’s his name?~”
Clark sat back down. “~That’s Sapphire. And he must think you are something special. He’s very solitary and rarely has anything to do with anyone.~”
“~Well, the feelings are mutual. I think he’s pretty special, too. I wish I had tried to take some of these creatures back to New Krypton. They are so calming.~” She smiled again. “~So I hear we have a granddaughter.~”
Clark smiled proudly. “~Yes, we do. Lady Jonna-El.~”
Zara cocked her head sideways in wonderment at the name. “~It’s an odd name for a Kryptonian, but it’s pretty. How did she get it?~”
He nodded and smiled. He explained how the name came to be.
Zara smiled. “~I’m glad to know that you and Lois were able to have children. I bet you are a great father.~”
Clark’s eyes twinkled. “~I’ve got some great kids.~” He took a deep breath. “~I wonder just how great a father I am though. Zared - Lord Zar-El - is married because they were expecting a baby. Now I’ve found out that my twin daughters had sexual relations at the age of fifteen.~”
She smiled sympathetically. “~Well, Kal-El, you know that sometimes no matter what you teach your children, they sometimes do things that are contrary to what you have taught them.~”
He nodded and sighed. “~I know.~” He clasped his hands together. “~Why are you here, Zara? I don’t get the feeling that it is to return with Los and K’al.~”
She bit her lip. “~No. I would just as soon they stay for awhile. The Thanae would very much like to assassinate them. I suggested that I leave for a while, too, and the council of elders agreed. The Thanae don’t have faster than light ships so they couldn’t follow. But I really had ulterior motives in coming here. When Healer Zor-Te was dying, he admitted to me that Los should probably have had surgery long before now, but you probably don’t know about that...~”
Clark interrupted, “~Yes, I know about it. Los just helped my wife, Caitlyn, perform the surgery on my son, Jon.~”
She nodded. “~Jon? So Los has told you that the defect tends to run in the House of El?~” He nodded. She sighed. “~Anyway, he feared that Los had damage and that he couldn’t wait much longer to have surgery. That’s why I came.~”
“~Los has asked Caitlyn to perform his surgery. And yes, he has damage. He’s told me he is in constant discomfort. I’m not sure I understand Zor-Te’s reasoning for putting off the surgery.~”
She shrugged. “~He was a stubborn man, and he didn’t like it when Los told him he was wrong. Then, even when he realized he was wrong, he couldn’t bring himself to admit it.~”
Clark sighed heavily. “~And so his vanity has caused our son to be in pain.~”
She rubbed her hands together. “~ I didn’t know he had constant pain until I heard him say so after I arrived. He hides it well.~” She took a deep breath. “~I was also hoping to get to meet Zar. Hmmm... Zared. It pleases me that you kept some form of my name.~”
Clark smiled. “~It’s a Hebrew name. It means ‘strange descent’. Lois and I thought it was fitting.~”
Zara smiled. “~It does seem to fit.~” She stroked Sapphire’s fur and looked back to Clark. “~I also hope that Lord K’al-El can benefit from your kindness and wisdom. Sometimes he is stubborn... and what is it you say.. hardheaded?~”
Clark raised and eyebrow. “~Yes, I’ve noticed. But he can also be kind. And he very much loves his wife and daughter. Those are admirable qualities.~” He took a deep breath. “~So the council knows you are on Earth?~”
She shook her head no. “~No. No one knows where I went. They don’t know where Los and K’al are. They think I sent them off in a starship. Even most of those aboard the ship don’t know. Ching knows. And Healer Mak just found out. I brought her along to check on Los. She isn’t as experienced as Los, but she has assisted in the surgery he will need several times and has performed it herself three times. She’s actually here.~”
Clark’s eyebrows both shot up. “~Here? In the house?~”
“~Yes, she followed shortly after I did. She is using a cloaking shield.~”
“~But you weren’t using one?~”
“~We only had one available. I thought it more important that she use it. She’s downstairs in the large room with lots of tables and chairs.~”
Clark paused. “~Ah. The large dining room. Hmm... ~”
Zara pouted slightly. “~I wonder where Los is. I would have expected him to return to me sooner. I guess I might have been asleep though.~”
Clark nodded slowly. “~I suppose that’s possible.~” He sighed. “~Zara. About Los... Who is this Lady Edrika? He has no interest in her. I know you want him to be married to Kryptonian royalty, but surely there is a way around that. He loves Marisol, and she *is* the Queen of Wheat you know.~”
Zara chuckled. “~Kal. I spent enough time on this planet to know that there is no royalty in this country. Los has already mentioned this to me, but I know it means nothing. I didn’t tell him that though. He loves her a lot, doesn’t he?~”
Clark nodded. “~He certainly does.~”
She grinned. “~And I like Marisol. Hmm.... Drull was a cousin of Lord Nor’s, and he was actually a lower Lord. The council might not like it because Nor’s house is still considered disgraced, but I can declare her a lower Lady.~” Her eyes twinkled. “~It would be best if he was married to a full lady, but I could overlook this for my son’s happiness. And besides, Lord Kal-El has requested that this be allowed to happen.~” She looked at him as if asking him to agree that with her.
Clark chuckled. “~Ah, yes, so I have. Thank you, Zara.~” He stood up and kissed her on the cheek. “~Los will be ecstatic.~” He raised an eyebrow. “~Do you also know that he wants to stay here?~”
She closed her eyes tightly. “~Yes, I know. I’m not sure I can allow that.~”
Clark had a good idea that he could allow it. “~I can.~”
Zara’s face fell. “~Yes, you can, but Kal... Clark. We need Los on New Krypton. He is a fine healer. If something happens to K’al, *he* would need to rule. He... I... would miss him.~”
“~I understand. But think about it. He says he is happier here than he ever has been before.~”
She closed her eyes tightly and her lip trembled. “~Yes, I will think about it.~” She looked up and brightened. “~I should tell K’al I’m here.~”
Clark nodded. “~I’ll get him and bring him to you.~”
Clark walked out of the room and K’al was ready to knock on the door. “Oh, Father. I wanted to speak to Los. I assumed he would be here for the consummation.”
Clark looked puzzled. “The consummation?”
K’al nodded. “Ah, yes. I gave him my blessing to marry the Queen of Wheat. For some reason, they seemed quite anxious. I performed the ceremony myself a bit ago.”
Clark started laughing. K’al looked at him curiously.
K’al had not yet seen his mother who was trying hard to keep her composure but was failing miserably. She should be mad at Los for such a deception, but she could only think of how mad K’al was going to be when he found out that, as the humans said, Los had ‘pulled the wool over his eyes’.
K’al looked at his father seriously. “Who is in there with you?”
Clark opened the door. “Your mother.”
K’al immediately prostrated himself and said, “~Beloved Mother...~”
Clark waved his hand at him. “Get up. You don’t need to do that here.”
K’al looked at his mother for confirmation. Zara nodded. “That’s fine. So you are speaking English here?”
K’al nodded and looked back and forth between the two of them. “What’s so funny?”
Zara shrugged. “I believe I’ll let your brother explain.” Still smirking, she turned to Clark as if to dismiss her son. “Kal-El, I would like to rest now.”
He nodded and took K’al by the arm. “Come on, son. Let’s let your mother rest.” He rolled his eyes and thought about how mad K’al was going to be at his brother.
Zara thought to Clark. <~Actually, I’d love to get something to eat. Is that possible?~>
Clark answered, <~Of course. I’ll be back shortly as soon as I deposit K’al with his wife.~>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los and Mari’s ‘quick’ session of lovemaking in order to consummate their marriage had ended up lasting over an hour. He murmured against her hair. “Oh, god, I love you so much, Mari.”
“I love you, too, Los.”
He sat up. “I’m going to the ship.”
“The ship? Why?”
“Well, you want to get pregnant. I want you to get pregnant. I can make what I need at S.T.A.R. Labs, but it will be quicker to get it from the ship.”
She leaned up on her elbow. “And just how do you intend to get aboard the ship without being noticed?”
He shrugged. “Well, they won’t be expecting someone to enter the... hmmm what do you call it.. the portal between vacuum and the interior of the ship...”
She smiled. “Airlock.”
“Uh-huh. They won’t be expecting someone to enter straight through an airlock. They’d only be looking for a smaller ship to dock.” He bent down and kissed her. “I’ll be back shortly.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked through the large dining room on his way to the side door. He stopped and looked around. Someone was here. A Kryptonian cloaking shield would hide most people - even from telepathic thought, but he wasn’t the typical Kryptonian telepath.
Healer Mak huddled in a corner as if that would hide her from Lord Los-El. Of all people to walk through this room, it had to be him. Lady Zara-Ra had told her to remain hidden at all costs. It hadn’t been easy, because as soon as she had arrived via the matter transport beam, Lady Edrika had somehow managed to follow her. The cloak was big enough to hide a small group of people, but she had ended up having to tranquilize Edrika as she was determined to find Lord Los-El. The woman was crazy in love with him and she knew for a fact that the feelings were not returned. But Lady Edrika seemed to somehow think she could force the issue by making up wild stories about Lords Los-El and K’al-El and Lady Rya-Pe. Well, Mak didn’t believe any of it. And even if it was true, Edrika should keep her mouth shut.
Los stood there a moment. He couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t easily telepathically feel anything either. He reached out. It wasn’t Ching. Who? He turned as if to leave but stood there momentarily. He listened for heartbeats. He could hear them - not one person but two. But one of them seemed to be asleep or unconscious. He heard the other heartbeat increase. The person had definitely seen him. And most likely the person had recognized him. This was not a mind that he was extremely familiar with, but he had touched it before. Yes, he had delivered her baby. He reached out further. Mak. Mak was here? He approached her. “Turn off the shield, Healer Mak.”
She didn’t answer. Lady Zara’s orders overruled his. She couldn’t comply.
Father had told him that they could see into the infrared if they so desired. He knew the control device would be on her wrist. And so it was. He reached out and turned it off. He raised an eyebrow. He was not one to throw his royal status around, but he did have to keep up a certain air. “~You dare not comply?~”
She hung her head. “~Lady Zara-Ra ordered it.~”
He sighed and nodded. He looked down and spat, “~Edrika!~”
Healer Mak bit her lip. “~I’m sorry. I don’t know how she managed to follow me, but she did. At least she doesn’t know which planet we are on.~”
He cocked his head sideways. “~Are you sure? And do you know?~”
“~Yes, my lord. We are on Earth. And I’m sure. She asked me where we were. I wouldn’t tell her. She tried to find out, but her telepathic skills do not equal mine.~”
He nodded and raised an eyebrow. “~Yes, you do have the telepathic skills of a healer.~” He sat down in a chair. “~Why are you here? Did you come to attend to Mother? Surely she knew that I could do that.~”
She took a deep breath and approached him. “~I came to attend to you, Lord Los-El~” She reached down and put her hand on his abdomen.
He hadn’t expected the contact and he certainly hadn’t expected her to touch him in the manner of a telepathic exam. He sharply drew in his breath.
She whispered quietly. “~Yes, Healer Zor-Te was right. His stubbornness has caused you damage. Your mother wishes me to perform your surgery. You will, of course, require a proper exam.~”
He shrank back in the chair and removed her hand from his abdomen. He swallowed hard. “~I...~”
She sat down beside him. “~Lord Los-El, I know my training has gone a bit slower than I had expected, but I did have a baby in the midst of it. And having babies on New Krypton is also very important. And yes, I have not yet taken my test, but I was about ready to do so before we had to leave. And I do have the necessary experience to do your surgery. I have more experience with it than you do. I assisted with Lord K’al-El’s surgery. I’ve assisted many times, and I’ve done the surgery three times by myself.~” She took a deep breath and hoped he wouldn’t be angry at her next statement. “~I have more experience in this than you do, my lord.~”
Los hugged himself and placed his chin in the ‘V’ formed by his crossed arms. “~This is why Mother came here?~”
She nodded. “~Yes, it is.~”
He sighed heavily and looked over at her medical kit. “~Is that a full med-kit? A Class 1 med-kit?~” At her nod, he stood up, walked over to it and picked it up. He quickly rummaged through it and removed a few things. Mak watched him curiously. He smiled at her and turned back the way he came. “~Keep her unconscious.~”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark walked with K’al to his room and nodded to him. “Let your mother rest. She has had a miscarriage and is feeling a bit poorly. You can talk to her tomorrow.”
K’al looked at him sideways. “Okay. What’s a miscarriage?”
Clark blew his breath out. “She lost a baby.”
K’al suddenly looked very sad. “I didn’t even know she had been pregnant. I...” Clark briefly saw his lip tremble as he turned and walked into his room where his wife awaited him.
Clark returned to where Zara was and held his hand out to her. “~Come on. I’ll take you downstairs and fix something for you. Zared had to work late, but he should be home any time. He’s always wanted to meet you.~”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los returned to Mari. She looked up and smiled at him. “That was quick.”
He quickly explained the situation to her. “I’ve got what I need to ensure your pregnancy. I can also choose the sex if you so wish.”
She grinned. “What do you want, sweetie?” His answer was a shrug. She sighed. “Well, you may not be saying, but somehow, I get the idea that a boy would be best? For the first child? You’ve explained enough to me about the ruling house to understand this.” Los gave her a half grin. She chuckled. “A boy it is.”
He smiled and nodded. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. But are you sure... I mean...”
She chided him. “Los. We can have girl the next time.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll need to...” He motioned towards her in a manner that she didn’t understand.
She looked confused. “What? I don’t understand.”
“Well... I’ll need to examine you. It... might be a bit uncomfortable because of the procedure.”
She nodded. “Okay. What do I do?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh! You... you’ve never had this done before. That’s why you were reluctant earlier?”
She bit her lip. “Partly.”
“Okay.” He quickly explained what he needed her to do. He began the exam and quickly performed the more in depth procedure. When she winced, he bit his lip. “I’m sorry, honey. If it was just a regular exam, it wouldn’t be this bad. But the medication needs to reach your ovaries.”
She nodded. “Hmm... I understand. Wouldn’t it be easier to just inject me through my abdomen?”
“Well, no, we’ve tried it that way. It’s not as effective.” When he was finished, he kissed her cheek. “You need to stay in bed for at least the next fifteen minutes. “You weren’t close to ovulation so this is going to force you to ovulate. You may feel some ovulation pain.”
She muttered, “Called mittelschmerz.”
“Mitt... what?”
“Mittelschmerz.”
“Uh, okay. Well, pay attention for it. When you have it, we can proceed...”
“And if I don’t have it? Can’t you still figure out when I ovulate?”
“Yeah, but your mittel...stuff is faster.” He stood up. “I’m going to go deal with Edrika.”
She raised up, and with a sudden and unexpected flare of jealousy, she exclaimed disgustedly, *Edrika*?! You mean *she’s* here, *too*?”
He grinned and his eyes twinkled. “Don’t worry, sweetie. My heart belongs to you.” He bent down and kissed her tenderly. He held her in his arms tightly and they stayed that way for the next few moments. He smiled at her and finally, reluctantly left her to deal with Edrika.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
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