This part is rated PG. Hope you like it! And as always, you know I love feedback.
< Around words denotes telepathic thought.>
~Around words denotes Kryptonian speech.~
Here’s the
TOC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Chapter 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.”
~~~~~
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.
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.”
~~~~~
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 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.”
~~~~~
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.”
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.~”
~~~~~
Marisol raised up on her elbow, 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A New Hero: Part 44 Zared was dead tired. The zoo hadn’t liked it because he had called in sick. He should have left well enough alone, but he’d called back and told them he was feeling better and wondered if they wanted him to come in to work after his shift at the Planet. They’d readily agreed. He’d thought maybe he could rush through his chores and get done quickly, but they decided to have him train a new summer person. He’d been up all night, had barely had a nap, and he just hadn’t had the patience for it. He walked in through the French doors of his and Jenni’s room, and he found her playing with baby Jonna.
She looked up and smiled. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? They asked me to baby sit for a bit. There was something they wanted to do.”
He grumbled something unintelligible and started taking his clothes off as he walked toward the bathroom. He took his underwear off, threw them on the floor, and stepped into the shower.
Jenni sighed, put the baby in her carrier, and got up and walked behind him picking up his smelly clothes. Zared *definitely* worked in a zoo, and he *definitely* cleaned cages. She hated him having to work so hard, but she knew that, since she couldn’t work right now, he had to. Clark was being kind to them by allowing them to live there, but he wasn’t giving them a free ride either. He was charging them rent. He’d talked to them about it. They could keep the large spacious room they were in, or, since Jenni was going to be the new nanny, they could get free room and board by moving into the nanny’s apartment. Anamarie’s apartment was really only a room with a refrigerator and cook top. It had its own bathroom, but the bathroom only had a shower, and Jenni did so love a bath on occasion. They’d decided to stay where they were. Granted, Clark wasn’t charging them a lot for rent, but he was charging them. But Jenni and Zared had gotten themselves into this mess. Having Clark giving them a free ride wasn’t going to help them learn how to pay their bills and all that other grown-up stuff. She had the feeling that she and Zared were going to grow up fast. She was just walking into the bathroom to pick up his underwear when he stepped out of the shower. She openly admired his body.
He swallowed hard. “Hmm... Jenni. Don’t look at me that way. Okay? I mean... at least not until you can... you know... ‘Cause I um...”
She giggled and turned and left the bathroom. “Okay, honey. I’m sorry.”
He walked out shortly after that. He had a towel wrapped around his hips. He rummaged through a drawer for some clean underwear. He pulled them on then walked to the closet. “Did anyone cook anything for dinner? I'm starved.”
“I don’t think so, honey. But I’m sure there’s plenty to eat.” She cooed at baby Jonna.
He nodded and put on some casual clothing. “I’m going to the kitchen. You want anything?” She shook her head no, so Zared strolled out of their room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked back to the dining room. He smiled. “~Healer Mak. Are you hungry?~”
She shrugged. “~Umm... I have a couple of protein bars.~”
He pointed toward the kitchen. “~Go that way. Mother and Father are in the kitchen. I’m sure they can find you something better to eat than protein bars.~”
She was awed. “~Father? Lord Kal-El is here?~”
Los nodded. “~Yes, of course. This is his home.~”
Her eyes widened. “~Oh.~”
He motioned for her to go. “~Go.~”
Not moving to leave, she bit her lip. “~Lord Los-El. May I ask you something? Somewhat personal?~”
He shrugged. “~Go ahead. I may choose not to answer though.~”
“~Umm... Lady Edrika is in love with you. I know you do not feel the same, but she somehow seems to think she can force the issue by saying... things. I hope you will not fall for her wiles.~”
Los’ eyes widened and his mouth was slightly open in an ‘o’. “~You mean that she has been saying these things publicly?~” He was outraged.
Healer Mak bowed her head. “~Oh, no, my lord. I take it you know what she has been saying then?~” At his nod, she continued, “~I heard her say them while I was attending to Lady Zara.~” She shrugged. “~Sometimes people tend to ignore the presence of a healer - or a healer-in-training.~”
He licked his lips. “~Yes, I suppose so. But my experience has been bit different in that aspect. I’ve only been ignored when no one knew who I was because of being dressed in surgical garb. But never being ignored can cause problems, too.~”
She smiled. “~Ah, yes, my lord. Healer Zor-Te was very hard on you during your training - even unfair at times. I remember the paper he made you re-write three times when your first one was better than almost everyone else’s in the class.~”
Los cocked his head in surprise. “~Was it? Healer Zor-Te told me otherwise. He told me it was because I was young and that he couldn’t allow me to get away with doing things sloppily. And since I was so young, he told me I had to expect to work harder.~”
“~Too young.~” She drew in her breath sharply and hung her head. “~*Forgive* me, my lord. I have misspoken.~”
He took her hand and sighed. “~I was too young.~”
She nodded her head. “~But that wasn’t why Healer Zor-Te was hard on you. If you remember, that didn’t start happening until the two of you had some disagreements on how patients should be treated. In every case but one, I believe you were right. And many healers have started their training at a young age. It’s bad enough that it causes you to virtually lose your childhood; it shouldn’t make a difference in how you are treated.~”
Los sat down. “~Possibly. But others couldn’t get past my status to be able to always correct me. Yes, Healer Zor-Te and I disagreed about many things, but he pushed me to work harder. He pushed me to be my best. And it didn’t bother him to disagree with me in the least.~”
She smiled. “~And you are now one of the finest healers we have. I understand that Healer Zor-Te declared your training complete, and, that with his death, you have been named official healer to ruling families.~”
He closed his eyes tightly. “~All in my absence. I...~” He couldn’t tell her of his wish to stay on Earth.
She also sat down. “~Healer Zor-Te has caused you to be in pain. Is that what you were going to say?~”
He shrugged. It hadn’t been what he was going to say, but she was right. “~Yes.~” He stood up. “~Go get something to eat. Oh. And no, I have no intention of marrying Lady Edrika. I actually got married earlier today.~”
She stood up and smiled broadly. “~Oh, Lord Los-El. Congratulations!~” Then she looked just a bit leery. “~Is it a good marriage? Do you love her?~”
His face lit up. “~Oh, yes, Healer Mak. I do love her. Very much.~”
She smiled happily at his joy and turned and walked away.
As she walked toward the kitchen, he bent down beside Lady Edrika. He gave her an injection and brought her around. He slapped her face gently. “~Wake up.~” He would have liked to have added, ‘you snake’. Healer Mak had said that Lady Edrika was in love with him. He wondered if that was really true or if she just had political aspirations. He felt sure she had political aspirations.
She woke up and stared at him. Then she put her arms around him and pulled him to her for a kiss. “~Lord Los-El.~”
He pulled back. “~Lady Edrika.~” He sighed. “~Why are you here?~”
“~Lord Los-El. Los... Can I call you that?~”
“~No, you may not.~”
Her face fell. She sat up. She swallowed. “~Lord Los-El then. A member of the council was appointed to come on this trip with your mother. That was my father. I asked if I could come. I felt sure that your mother would visit you and Lord K’al-El. I came to see you. You haven’t chosen a wife yet. And I’ve come to be bold. *Marry* me. I love you.~” She looked at him pleadingly. “~You must know that. And surely you must love me. You’ve sent me love letters.~”
He blinked at her. “~Love letters?~”
“~Ah, see you admit it.~”
He frowned. “~You have tried to coerce mother into forcing a marriage. Why?~”
She shrugged. “I thought by the time you came around, I’d be beyond my best child bearing years. Oh, Los, I could give you such beautiful children.~”
He narrowed his eyes at her calling him Los. “~You have also tried to convince Lord K’al-El into forcing a marriage. Fabrications.~”
She sighed heavily. “~I caught them having sexual relations before they legally had the right to consummate.~”
“~No, you didn’t.~” He stared at her steadily. He knew she was lying.
She sighed. She realized she could not fool Lord Los-El. His telepathic skills were too strong. “~I came close to catching them. But... I have no proof. You are right.~” She teared up. “~I just thought... Oh, I don’t know what I thought. I just love you so much.~”
“~Edrika. Are telling me you didn’t do this for political reasons?~”
She rolled her eyes. “~I don’t care about all that stuff. I just want to love and be loved.~”
“~You... you’re really serious aren’t you?~” She nodded. “~Huh. I don’t think that’s the impression you gave Lady Zara-Ra and Lord K’al-El. Not at all.~”
She started crying quietly. “~I’m sorry. I’m also under a lot of pressure from my family. Like it’s my fault that they didn’t give me a birth husband.~” She looked up at him with hope. “~But, Los... ~” She bit her lip. “~Lord Los-El... the letters...~”
He shook his head no and said gently, “~Lady Edrika. I wrote you no letters.~”
She pouted at him. “~You did! It’s written on paper that I happen to know is exclusive to the House of El. And who else would have that but you and Lord K’al-El? Paper is rare, and this paper is even rarer. It’s fairly recognizable.~” She thrust one of the letters at him. “~I’ve seen your handwriting. Tell me that’s not yours.~”
He read the letter and looked up at her with his mouth open. Although the writing was similar to his, it wasn’t his. But he recognized the writing. “~How long have you been receiving these?~”
“~About eight mez.~”
He sighed. “~These aren’t from me, Edrika. And I’m not available. I’m married now.~”
“~You lie!~”
“~No. Would you like to meet my wife?~” He thought to Mari, <Get dressed and get presentable. I’m going to introduce you to Edrika. Come to the formal dining room.>
Edrika stared at him. She was dumbfounded. She knew not what to say.
Using her superpowers, Marisol quickly showered, dressed and made herself ‘presentable’. She assumed that Los meant that she shouldn’t look like they’d just had a tumble under the covers. She took a deep breath and quietly walked into the dining room.
Los stood up and held out his hand to Lady Edrika. She took it and stood up. He had to catch her when she swayed from dizziness. He pulled out a chair for her. “~Here. Sit down.~” After she had done so, he looked at Marisol and smiled. He moved his arm in a grand sweeping motion. “~Lady Edrika, may I present to you Lady Marisol Stuart, the Queen of Wheat. She is my wife.~” He nodded his head at Mari in a bowing motion of acknowledgment. “Lady Marisol, my queen, may I introduce you to Lady Edrika-We.”
Marisol looked at her husband and tried not to do anything she feared might be taken wrong. <What should I do?>
<Just stand there.>
Lady Edrika bowed her head. “~How be you this lovely evening, Lady Marisol Stuart, Queen of Wheat?~” She started to arise from her seat but had to sit back down because she was still dizzy.
Los smiled. “~Lady Marisol does not speak Kryptonian. At least not yet. Don’t worry about bowing to her. You are still a bit dizzy.~”
She nodded sadly. “~Thank you, Lord Los-El. I do feel a bit dizzy.~”
Los thought, <~Ching.~> He waited. <~Ching.~>
Finally Ching answered. <~Yes. Lord K’al-El? Lord Los-El?~>
Ching could never tell them apart when they spoke telepathically. He supposed they ‘sounded’ alike.
<~It’s Lord Los-El. It seems Edrika has snuck down here. Can you come and retrieve her? She’s been medicated and I don’t want to send her back on her own.~>
Ching sighed. <~I have a fractured leg, and I’m not in the best shape to come. I will send Lord Ch’ing. Is that acceptable?~>
Los raised an eyebrow. <~More than acceptable.~>
<~Lord Los-El.~> Ching paused and became more informal in this thoughts. <~Los. How is Zara? Is she in pain?~>
<~Hmm... A few cramps. She’s fine. I’m surprised you didn’t come down here with her.~>
Ching answered softly, <~She insisted she would be safe. And I suppose with you and K’al and Kal-El and Zar-El, she is.~> He paused. <~Ch’ing will arrive by matter transport shortly.~>
Los reached down and picked up Lady Edrika. “~Someone is coming to get you. But since I’m not sure how long that will be, right now I want you to lie down.~” He carried her to the den and laid her on the daybed. Although this was where Hannah had been staying, he was pretty sure she had no plans of returning here anytime soon. “~Are you hungry?~”
She softly said, “~No. That stuff Healer Mak gave me must have been very strong.~”
“~Yes, Edrika. But is there any chance you could be pregnant?~”
“~No, Los! Sorry... Lord Los-El. Although I don’t know why you are sticking to protocol now. I’ve called you Los before. No! I can’t be pregnant. There’s absolutely no way. I’ve never done what is required for that to occur.~”
Los was a bit surprised. “~Really? Hmph.~”
“~Los, I know you know how I feel about that. I’ve told you. And as I said, I was waiting for love.~” She said sadly. “~I was sure you... I suppose someone was playing a nasty joke on me with those letters. I guess that now I will never have anyone love me or look at me the way you look at Lady Marisol. Or the way Lord K’al-El looks at Lady Rya-Pe.~”
He patted her hand. “~Don’t be so sure, Edrika. Rest for a bit. I’ll come get you when someone comes for you.~”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mak timidly walked into the kitchen. When she saw Clark she immediately prostrated herself and waited quietly.
Clark looked at Zara. <~Healer Mak?~> She nodded.
Clark spoke to her. “~Healer Mak. You may arise. And you don’t need to do that.~” He looked at Zara. <~Didn’t I abolish all that?~>
She shrugged. <~When we returned to New Krypton, the council reconsidered it. They decided it should continue.~>
Clark turned to Mak and smiled. “~I thought you were hidden.~”
“~Lord Los-El sent me to this room.~” She looked somewhat longingly at the sandwich that Lord Kal-El was eating. She quickly looked down. She didn’t want to be seen as being inappropriate.
Clark smiled and stood up. He pulled a chair out for her and motioned for her to sit down. “~Sit.~” When he had reseated himself, he said, “~What would you like?~” He motioned to the sandwich fixings that were on the table. Healer Mak looked rather perplexed. When Clark could see that she had no idea what to choose, he quickly made her a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant. He was pretty sure she would like that. He handed it to her. “~Try this.~” He also handed her a bottle of Coke.
She looked at him with amazement. Lord Kal-El had just fixed her something to eat. She felt humbled. “~Thank you.~” She took a bite and smiled. “~This is *really* good.~” She quickly ate it and shyly said, “~Can I have another?~”
Clark nodded. “~As much as you want, Healer Mak. So Los found you.~” She nodded.
Zara asked, “~I don’t suppose he let you examine him, did he?~”
“~I snuck in a quick one. He does have damage, and he is in pain.~”
Clark nodded. “~Yes, he has chronic discomfort.~”
Zara said, “~I’d like her and your wife to examine him in a bit. It seems that if he has found Mak that he might be available.~” She winked at Clark.
Clark chuckled and switched to English. “Yes, it would seem he has finished consummating his marriage.”
Mak looked between the two of them. During the journey, Zara had asked her to learn English and to do so quickly, but obviously Lord Kal-El didn’t know that. She couldn’t help but grin. She knew she shouldn’t have reacted, but she just couldn’t help it. She stuffed her mouth full of something called potato chips.
Clark rolled his eyes. “I take it you know English, Healer Mak?”
She bowed her head in deference to him. Her eyes twinkled. “Yes, my lord. Lady Zara asked me to learn it.”
Lady Zara chuckled. “Yes, I knew she would need assistance with the surgery from someone here. Therefore, I asked her to learn English.”
After eating some more potato chips and trying some Fritos, and after she had finished her sandwich, Mak stood up. “~Thank you. I will wait in the big room.~” She pointed at the bags with the chips and the Fritos. “~Those are very good.~”
Clark smiled. “You can stay.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t.” She backed out of the room.
Zara grinned. “She is nervous around you, Kal... Clark. And me, too, I suppose. Although maybe that has decreased some since she held my hand while I was miscarrying. Clark, why couldn’t you freeze the ice pack earlier? Were you exposed to kryptonite?”
“Oh, yeah, the mother of all kryptonite exposures. I was shot.” At Zara’s look of confusion, he explained, “They are projectiles that are propelled by mini-explosions. From a gun. I almost died.” Zared tiredly walked into the room. He didn’t even pay much attention to his dad or the woman sitting at the table. He opened one of the refrigerators and looked for something to eat. Clark said, “There’s quite a bit of stuff on the table. Come sit down.” Zared sat down and, leaning on his hand, closed his eyes. Clark handed him a sandwich. “Tired?”
“Yeah.”
Clark turned the Zara. <~That’s Zared - Lord Zar-El.~>
Zara nodded. <~So I gathered. He looks so much like you.~>
Clark nodded. <~My son Jon looks a lot like me, too, but not like Zared.~> He turned back to Zared. “Hard day at work?”
“Yeah. Between not getting much sleep and having to train somebody, yeah. I’m really tired.”
Clark grinned. “Well, perk up a little. I’m not sure what kind of impression you are making on your birth mother.” He nodded towards Zara. “This is Zara.”
Zared looked up with his mouth hanging open. “I guess I am being very impolite. I didn’t even ask who your guest was. Zara. Wow. Umm... I’ve always wanted to meet you.”
“And I’ve always wanted to see you again. You were such a beautiful baby. And now I understand you are going to be a father?”
He nodded. “Yes. Jenni and I are expecting a little girl. Umm... I’m not sure what to say...”
She patted his hand. “Neither do I, Zared, but maybe we’ll manage something.” She smiled. “Do you think so?”
He nodded. He began asking her questions about New Krypton. And she began asking him questions about his life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mari had gone to the family room to watch television while Los waited in the dining room for Ch’ing. When he finally arrived, Los led him to a chair. He pushed the letter in front of him. He raised an eyebrow. “~You know she thinks these are from me, don’t you, brother?~”
Ch’ing shook his head no. “~No, but I knew that she wanted you. I’d come to the conclusion that she wasn’t interested. I am quite a bit younger than she is.~”
“~Not even a full year younger than K’al and me. And Mother certainly seems to think that a relationship between Edrika and myself would have been okay.~” He leaned forward. “~But I’m not interested. And she wants the person that has been writing these letters. I thought she was a snake and only interested in political gain. I was wrong. She wants to be loved. She wants to love. You know it might have helped matters if you had signed the letters. This one is really beautiful. Very poetic. Very sensual.~”
Ch’ing swallowed hard. “~Do you think she would consider marrying a lower lord such as myself?~”
Los smiled. “~I think I just said that.~”
“~Do you think Mother would allow such a relationship? Do you think her father would?~”
“~Well, I don’t know about her father, but I certainly think Mother would allow it. And she does carry a bit of weight when it comes to these things.~”
Los stood up. “~Lady Edrika is resting. How about you tell her that you are the one that wrote the letters.~”
Ch’ing blushed. “~I couldn’t.~”
Los rolled his eyes. “~Okay, I’ll tell her. Then I’ll leave you two to talk a bit before you take her back.~” He took the control device from Ch’ing. “~I have a feeling if I let you go back too soon that you will be too nervous to talk to her.~” He led Ch’ing to the den and called, “~Lady Edrika.~” He didn’t knock because that would have been meaningless to her. When she answered, he walked in. “~Lady Edrika. I believe you know my brother, Lord Ch’ing?~”
She nodded. “~Yes, of course.~”
Los smiled. “~*He’s* the one that has been writing the letters.~”
Edrika was amazed and smiled. “~You wrote all those wonderful letters? Why didn’t you tell me?~”
Los turned and walked to the door. “~You two talk for awhile.~”
Ch’ing held out his hand for the matter transport device. He smiled. “~Give me that. We can talk on the ship.~”
Los shrugged. “~I thought maybe you might want to talk to Mother while you are here.~”
Edrika said shyly, “~We can talk on the ship.~” Los handed the device to Ch’ing and walked out.
Edrika smiled at Ch’ing. “~Did you mean what you said in those letters?~”
He nodded. “~Did you mean what you told my brother? That you only wanted to love and be loved? And that you weren’t looking for political gain?~”
She nodded. “~That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Ch’ing.~”
With that, they returned to the ship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los walked back to the family room and leaned over Mari and kissed her.
Marisol smiled. “I’m ready. But let’s not take an hour this time.” She giggled and stood up. “I still want Caitlyn to examine you.”
He smiled and nodded. “Yes, and Healer Mak also wants to examine me. This has been quite a day hasn’t it?”
She nodded and started walking towards the guestroom. She motioned for him to follow her.
He chuckled. “And it turns out Lady Edrika wasn’t interested in me at all. She thought I was writing her love letters. It wasn’t me. It was my brother Ch’ing. And I think he’s nuts about her.” He put his around her and kissed her passionately.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark, Zara, and Zared had been enjoying some very nice conversation when Zared’s head jerked up. “Gotta go. There’s something going on downtown.” He stood up and spun into FireWind. “I’ll be back.”
Zara smiled. “Wow. He’s really something, Clark. You didn’t seem to hear that. Did the kryptonite affect you that badly?”
He shrugged. “I can’t hear very far away yet. I can hear stuff close though. It’s getting better, but I suppose it will take a while.”
She pouted. “So you never constructed a force field to protect you from kryptonite?”
He twisted his mouth. “Well... it’s seems Ching didn’t leave the instructions. But then he also didn’t leave instructions on how to work the data orb. I’ve gotten some information out of it, but it always had to be attached to the space ship. Los has been using it for some medical stuff, and he’s going to show me how to use it.”
Zara rolled her eyes. “Sorry about that, Clark. He is very jealous of you - even though he has no reason to be.”
Claire called to Clark. <Daddy. I’m tired. It’s late and I just don’t feel like waiting for Chloe. You tell her. I’m going to sleep.>
<Are you sure, honey?>
She hiccupped and it was obvious she’d been crying again. <Yes, Daddy. I’m just not sure what I’d say anyway. Good night.>
<Good night, honey. I love you.>
<Love you, too, Daddy.>
Zara smiled. “Talking to someone?”
He nodded. “Yes, my daughter. She’s going through a rough time.” He sighed. “Did Los talk to you about... about Ching? I mean you knew about Marisol being Drull’s daughter.”
She nodded sadly. “Yes, but I don’t think he’s a rapist, Clark.”
“Neither do I.”
She pursed her lips. “But we need to talk about what to do and how to find out what happened. I have a few ideas.”
After speaking for a while and coming up with a plan, Zara stood up. She chuckled. “Do you think Los has had enough time? I’m anxious to see what Healer Mak and... Cait....”
“Caitlyn.”
“Yes, Caitlyn. I want to see what they have to say about Los’ health.”
She called to Los. <Los. Are you finished consummating?>
Hand in hand with Mari, Los was walking towards the kitchen to speak with his mother. He blushed furiously. Mari looked at him curiously. He told Mari what his mother had thought, then he said. “She evidently knows.”
He walked into the kitchen and bit his lip as he looked as his mother. “You know?”
She laughed. “Yes, Los. K’al told Clark and me. I believe he is going to be really angry with you when he finds out the truth.”
He shrugged. “What do you mean, Mother?”
She sighed. “Los, I was on Earth long enough to know that this country doesn’t have royalty.” Marisol looked fearful. Zara took her hand. “Don’t worry, my dear... my daughter by law. Your secret is safe with me. I will honor the marriage. Drull is your father and was a lower lord and as such, I can name you a lower lady. And so it is.” She looked at Los and her eyes twinkled. “Am I to expect another grandchild, too?”
Los bit his lip. “Hmm... yes.”
“Ah, my son.” She hugged him. “Now come upstairs. I want you to be examined.”
Los frowned and started to speak, but Marisol was the one that answered. “Yes, I think that’s a very good idea.”
Los stubbed his toe against the carpet and pouted, but he slowly turned towards the stairs.
Zara walked to the formal dining room and motioned to Healer Mak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clark walked in the master bedroom. Caitlyn was sitting on the bed. She had some charts lying on the bed. He bent down and kissed her cheek. “Don’t you ever stop working?”
She sighed. “I’m behind on some of my paperwork from the office so I thought I’d try to catch up. I’m a little behind at the hospital, too, but they’d have my head if I tried to take those charts home. As it is, I have to make sure these stay locked in my briefcase.”
He nodded. “Are you ready to examine Los?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
As she started to put the files back in her brief case, he quickly explained about Healer Mak’s presence and that Los and Mari had gotten married.
“That quick?” She beamed. “Well, considering the way they have been acting, I should have known.”
When she stood up, he pulled her into his embrace and murmured, “I hope you aren’t on call tonight.”
She leaned into him, relishing his touch. “Only until midnight. And it’s close to that now, so we should be able to spend the night together.”
Then they began walking arm in arm towards the upstairs guest room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Los sat down heavily on the bed and pulled his shirt off. He muttered, “I wonder if Mother is staying here tonight? Hmmph. She might have to find another room.”
Marisol ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m sure there’s an extra room somewhere. You seem awfully nervous for someone who says they haven’t been feeling worse.”
“I don’t,” he whispered softly. “But Healer Mak managed to sneak a quick exam earlier. It hurt. More than I let on to her. I... umm... don’t relish the idea of her examining me.” He hung his head. “But it’s necessary, I suppose.”
“But you didn’t seem to be upset at the idea of Caitlyn examining you. Maybe a bit nervous but not so upset.”
“Hmm... Well, Healer Mak has never examined me... well, except for the one she sneaked in... Umm... Because we are both healers, there’s a higher level of trust that’s required. It’s... umm... hard... and... I’m... babbling...” He sighed heavily and leaned his head on his hands. “Let’s just say that it’s going to hurt.”
She sat down beside him and took his hand. “It’ll be okay. Come on, finish getting undressed. Stand up and I’ll pull the covers back. You are tired, too. You haven’t had much sleep. Let’s hope when they are done that you will be able to sleep.”
He stood up and quickly finished undressing. He watched as she pulled the covers back and then he slid between the sheets.
She moved to sit on the other side of the bed and held his hand while they waited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Healer Mak and Lady Zara were walking towards the guestroom, K’al-El entered the hallway from the opposite stairwell. He was holding Lady Jonna-El. When he saw his mother, he approached her and held out the baby. “Isn’t she beautiful?” Then he cocked his head at Healer Mak. “~Sorry. I said, ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’”
Healer Mak nodded. “Beautiful.”
K’al grinned. “You speak English?”
She raised an eyebrow and looked dubious. “A little bit.”
Zara cooed at Lady Jonna as she took her in her arms. “~Oh, you are just a pretty, pretty girl, aren’t you?~” She looked up at Mak and smiled. “~Considering the short amount of time you’ve had, you have done a marvelous job of learning English.~” She giggled. “~I think she is wet, my son.~” And in grandmotherly fashion, she handed Lady Jonna-El back to her father so that he could take care of the matter. Her eyes twinkled. “~May I speak to Lady Rya?~”
“~Well, she’s asleep. But I can wake her...~” His last statement was partly a question.
“~No, no. That’s okay. Healer Mak needs to examine Lord Los-El anyway.~”
He raised an eyebrow. “~Ah, that’s why she is here.~”
Zara nodded. “~Actually that’s why we are both here. That’s the entire reason we came. As Healer Zor-Te was dying, he told me that Lord Los-El needed surgery right away.~”
“~Yes, Lord Los-El is aware that he needs surgery right away. He asked Caity, umm... Lady Cait - lyn to do the surgery.~” He’d corrected himself because he knew protocol said that he should call her Lady Caitlyn. He still had some difficulty with her name though. “~She is an excellent surgeon, but having Healer Mak here is good.~” He cocked his head. “~You aren’t here to take us back?~”
“~No, my son.~” She smiled. <~Besides I think you can learn much from your father.~> She winked at him. “~Do you wish to attend the examination as is your right?~”
“~Umm... Do you want me there? If not, I will attend to the baby.~”
“~No, that’s fine. Take care of the baby. Only one of us need be present.~” She turned and walked down the hall.
Healer Mak dutifully followed her. She wondered who Lady Caitlyn was. “~Lady Zara. May I inquire as to who Lady Caitlyn is? Am I to understand she will assist with the surgery?~”
Lady Zara smiled. “~Lady Caitlyn is Lord Kal-El’s wife. Yes, she is a healer. They are called physicians here. And she specializes in surgery.~”
“~Yes, my lady. Very good. It was very wise of you to ask me to learn English.~”
“~Yes, we knew when we came that you would need the assistance of someone here. And I knew that would be far easier if you could speak English. While there is one caregiver on board that can assist in Lord Los-El’s care, it takes more than two people to perform major surgery. ~”
She nodded her head in a bow. “~Yes, my lady. That is true.~”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caitlyn knocked on the upstairs guestroom door. Marisol called, “Come in.”
Clark ushered Caitlyn into the room and turned to leave.
Los called to him. “Please, Father. Stay.”
Clark turned back and said softly, “Are you sure?”
Los nodded his head. “Yes, I’m sure.”
Caitlyn sat down beside him. “Hmm... Wonder what’s keeping Zara and Mak?”
Los looked through the door and down the hall. “Looks like they are fawning over the baby.”
Caitlyn nodded and smiled. “Oh. She is a cutie.”
Los smiled. “She looks like her mother. Go ahead and start.”
“Are you sure?” Caitlyn earnestly questioned. When Los nodded, she continued, “Well, to start with, you need to have a urinalysis done, and you will need lab work done.”
Los closed his eyes. “Yes, so I assumed. I did both of those earlier today.” He sat up, picked up a pen and pad of paper from the bedside table and quickly wrote down the results and handed them to her. “As you can see, there is no infection, but there is evidence of the very beginnings of renal failure.”
Mari put her hand to her chest and took in a quick breath. That scared her. “Los! You didn’t tell me.”
Caitlyn smiled at her in reassurance. “Well, humans can have a significant amount of damage before complete failure occurs. From what I know of Kryptonian physiology, which is quite a bit, the same is true.”
Los nodded. “Yes, it is. As long as the surgery is successful, then I should be fine.” He reached up his hand and brushed Mari’s cheek. “It’s okay.”
Mari nodded in relief. “Well, at least you won’t need that catherization done then.”
Los grinned and chuckled. “Well, hopefully not until surgery.”
Caitlyn reached out and began her exam. She proceeded with the exam, occasionally asking questions or giving instructions. She even used some of the telepathic examination techniques that Los had taught her.
He jumped and winced a bit when she did that. “You’ve taken to that quite well.” He took a deep breath. “But I fear Mak’s exam is going to be *very* uncomfortable.”
She nodded. “Yes, I used it on a couple of my patients today. It’s quite amazing. I can only imagine how much you must learn by doing that. For me, it seems to mostly allow me to locate where the pain is coming from. Is it necessary for Mak’s exam to be so intensive?”
He sighed. “Yes. But she will be able to pinpoint the damaged areas in a way that you can’t. It works nearly as well as some of your scanning machines and sometimes better.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Ah. Very interesting.” She started pushing the sheets down. “I’m going to get personal here. Okay?” He nodded.
In the midst of the exam, Zara called at the door, “Los.” Then she and Healer Mak entered the room without awaiting an answer. .
Marisol’s mouth dropped open then she quickly shut it. She looked at Los. <I *cannot* believe your mother just walked in during the midst of such a... revealing exam.>
Los looked a bit confused. <As my mother and ruler of New Krypton, she has the right. She’s almost always been present during my examinations.> He raised his head up. <I take it this isn’t done here?>
She shook her head no. <*Not* with an adult... Or someone even close to being an adult. Your dad, yes, I can understand, but your *mom*?>
He shrugged and laid his head back down. <It’s okay.>
<Are you not considered an adult on New Krypton yet? Even if you aren’t, you have passed puberty. I’d think that would mean you are allowed some privacy. On top of that you are *married* now!>
<No, I’m not considered an adult on New Krypton yet. Not for another... hmm... about 18 of your months. But it’s more because I’m second in line to be ruler.>
<So if you weren’t royalty, then your mother wouldn’t have this right?>
<She would have the right until I became an adult. But because of my status, she will always have the right - even when K’al takes over as ruler in a few years.>
<So K’al has the right to be here, too, if so wished?>
<Yes.>
<And do you have the right to attend if K’al is examined. Or your mother?>
He smiled. <Since Father does not live on New Krypton, and since I am second in line to rule, I am expected to be present if K’al is examined by a healer. Now, since I’ve been named as official healer to the ruling families, yes, I would be expected to attend or perform any examination done on my mother. That doesn’t mean that I would do so. The First Lord and / or First Lady can ask that only their spouse attend the exam, but if that were to happen then the official healer would need to be there or a designate of his or hers would need to be there. There are other complicated rules that can require the attendance of one or more council members.>
She narrowed her eyes. <Bureaucracy. It exists everywhere, doesn’t it?>
He shrugged.
Caitlyn looked between the two of them and watched the communication. She was fairly sure that Mari was upset that Zara had walked in, but since Los hadn’t protested, she had assumed it was okay. She softly said, “Okay. I’m done with that.” She looked at him expectantly, silently asking if he wanted her to continue or if he wanted Healer Mak to take over.
He nodded in understanding. “Remember how I showed you much of what I found with Jon’s exam and with Father’s exam? She nodded. “I’ll let her show you what she finds with me.”
Clark stood beside Zara and he leaned over to her. “Zara, should you really *be* here? I mean, you are his mother.”
She smiled up at him. “Yes, it is different on Earth, isn’t it? I’ve almost always been present during his exams. As I have when any of my children have seen a healer. I have the right.” She furrowed her brow. “No, it’s more of an expectation. Especially among royalty.”
Clark shrugged. “Oh. Yes, I learned some of this when you and Ching were telling me all those rules before we reached The Palace. I guess I just didn’t realize that this would happen with a child of the opposite sex.”
Zara just shrugged.
Healer Mak approached Los and sat beside him. Los quickly explained what he wanted her to show Caitlyn. When she touched his abdomen, Los drew back. Mari took his hand. He squeezed it and then looked at her steadily. “As much as I’d like you to hold my hand, I don’t recommend it. It will distract me.” She looked almost hurt. He explained softly, “I need to concentrate on what Healer Mak will be doing. You can hold me later.” He nodded encouragingly. “Okay?” She bit her lip and reluctantly released his hand. He turned back to Healer Mak who had removed her hands. He nodded to her. But as soon as she touched him, he drew away again.
She took his hand. “~Lord Los-El, I know I haven’t examined you before, but you have cared for me. You have touched my mind. You know you can trust me. Let down your barriers. Let me examine you.~”
His lip trembled a bit and he tried to relax. At her touch, he only managed to tense up again.
Mak whispered, <~Ah, you are afraid that I will learn something that you don’t want me to know. Lord Los-El... Los. I’m loyal to the House of El and to the House of Ra. I would never do anything to harm you - any of you. No matter what. Okay? Now relax.~>
He swallowed hard and nodded. “~Okay.~”
She proceeded with the exam, and by the end of it, Los had tears in his eyes. She took his hand and whispered, “~Shh... It’s okay. I’m almost done. Just let me show Lady Caitlyn what I found.~”
She motioned to Caitlyn who was standing beside Clark as he had been translating for her. Mak took her hand and showed her what she needed to see. When they were done, Mak smiled. “Do you think we can work together?”
Caitlyn smiled and was pleasantly surprised at that she spoke English. “Yes, Mak. I think we can.”
Mak nodded and again took Los hand. “The sooner the surgery is done the better. I’d suggest doing it in the morning aboard the ship.”
Los still feared that his mother might not let him stay on Earth and that once he was on board, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave. Vehemently, he said, “No! The facilities at S.T.A.R. Labs are *more* than adequate. The surgery can be done there.”
Mak sighed, “Right now, I’m going to give you something for pain and something to help you rest. I can discuss that with Lady Caitlyn. Okay?” She reached into the med kit and drew out a hypo-spray and started to approach him with it.
Caitlyn shook her head in wonder as she thought, ‘Lady Caitlyn?’
Los grabbed Mak’s arm and said, “No!”
At the same time, Zara said, “~That might not be a good idea.~”
And Clark said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Mak looked totally perplexed. “~Why ever not?~ Why?” This idea of switching between English and Kryptonian was a bit confusing.
Clark looked at Zara and raised an eyebrow. “Forget to tell her about the invulnerability?”
Zara looked a bit embarrassed. “I’m afraid I did.”
Los rolled his eyes. “If you had tried to give me that without me allowing it, you would have just managed to break the hypo-spray and potentially have injected yourself as well.” Then he quickly explained what happened to Kryptonians under a yellow sun. Then he admonished. “Healer Mak. You understand that no one can know this, don’t you?”
Her eyes were wide as she softly responded, “Yes, of course. No wonder Lord Nor wanted to conquer this planet. Such overwhelming power for a man like that would not be good.” Then her eyes narrowed. “Just how do you expect Lady Caitlyn and I to operate on you?”
He quickly explained that to her, also.
She looked uncertain. “And you actually think that you can telepathically ‘allow’ this surgery?”
He nodded. “Yes, it worked with Lord Jon.”
She crossed her arms. “By yourself?”
He shook his head no. “I will need assistance to keep my mind from wandering from the task.”
She nodded. “Very well. Then allow me to give you this injection so I can see just how this works.”
He inquired as to what it was and then allowed her to give him the injection. He looked up at her. “I needed to examine Father again, but I forgot. Can you...” Before he was able to finish what he was saying, though, he was asleep.
Mak eyes widened. “He must have been very tired. I didn’t expect him to fall asleep so quickly.”
Mari smiled. “Yes, he was really tired. Can he rest now? I mean, you aren’t going to wake him again, are you?”
Mak nodded. “He can rest.”
Caitlyn also nodded in agreement. She stood up, walked to the door, opened it and walked out.
Clark was the last to exit and closed the door behind him.
Mak looked at Caitlyn. “Lord Los-El said something about examining Lord Kal-El. What...”
Caitlyn said, “Come on. I’ll show you.” She looked at Clark expectantly. “I haven’t examined you today either.” She started walking towards the master suite.
Clark nodded in agreement as he turned to Zara. “Will you be staying here tonight? I can put you in the downstairs guest room.”
She smiled, “Yes, I’d like to stay. I...”
Healer Mak interrupted, “Lady Zara. That’s too far away from the rest of the household. It’s not safe.”
Zara pursed her lips. “I take it Ching asked you to make sure I was safe?” Mak nodded.
Clark said, “Well, okay. Lara is sleeping in Jama’s room again tonight. How about you stay there?” He turned to Mak and pointed to the room. “Is that acceptable.”
Mak nodded. “Yes, and I will stay with her.”
Zara smiled. “Acting as my protector?”
Mak just shrugged.
Zara walked towards the room. “Very well then. I’m going to go to bed.” As she turned toward the door, Sapphire began rubbing against her legs. He’d been waiting patiently for her to reappear. Zara reached down, picked him up, and walked into the room.
Caitlyn, Clark, and Mak entered the master suite. Mak smiled. “Can you show me the lab?”
“Now?”
Mak cocked her head. “You... can me show with your mind.”
Caitlyn nodded. “Okay.”
After a minute, Mak nodded. “Yes. The facilities are okay.”
Caitlyn smiled. “Okay. Do you still want to do this in the morning? I’m pretty sure I can make the arrangements.” She turned to Clark. “Do you think J’on will be available?”
Mak frowned. “Lord Jon?” She looked at Clark. “Isn’t Lord Jon your son? And didn’t he just have surgery? Surely he isn’t able to assist Lord Los-El, is he?”
Clark answered, “J’on. Not Jon. J’on J’onzz is a powerful telepath.” He lay down on the bed. “Well, come on ladies. Let’s get this over with. Chloe’s curfew is at midnight, and she should be home any minute. I need to talk to her.” He quickly explained to Mak what Los wanted to check on.
Caitlyn nodded. “He never told me what the organ is called that he wanted to adjust.”
Mak shrugged. “It’s hard to pronounce. May I sit beside you, Lord Kal-El?” When he nodded, she sat down beside Clark. “May I touch you, Lord Kal-El?”
“Hmm... Yes. And you don’t have to call me Lord Kal-El. You can call me Clark.”
She seemed confused. “Clark?”
“My Earth name. Or you can call me Kal, if you are more comfortable with that.”
“I’d prefer Lord Kal-El, my lord.”
Clark sighed. “Very well.”
Mak pushed his shirt up and quickly examined him. “It seems fine. You... you don’t have scars, but did you just have surgery?”
Clark answered, “Yes, I did.” He quickly gave her a telepathic explanation.
Her eyes were wide. “Oh, my.” She stood up and walked toward the door. She turned back towards him. “Do you think I could have another one of those... umm... what did you call it?”
“Sandwich. Yes, please help yourself.”
Caitlyn smiled politely at her. “Let me speak to my husband for a moment, and then I’ll come down and join you so we can discuss Los’ surgery.”
Mak smiled, nodded, turned and left the room.
Clark ran his hand through his hair as Caitlyn sat down beside him and began examining him. He took a deep breath. “Try not to be gone long. We... I need to talk.”
“Okay, honey. Hey, why did Mak call me Lady Caitlyn?”
He laughed. “Because you are married to me. *You* are a lower lady.”
She giggled. “Does that mean I’m not a *proper* lady?”
He pulled her to him and kissed her. “Oh, I think you’re *very* proper.” He looked toward the door as he heard Chloe walking down the hall. He called to her. <Chloe, please come in here.>
<Okay, just let me go to my room a minute, and I’ll...>
<No, Chloe, now.>
Chloe opened the door. She was very apprehensive. She was afraid she might be in trouble because she was a few minutes late getting home. She didn’t think her dad would get mad since school was out, but she wasn’t sure.
When she entered the room, Clark was smiling, but then he briefly frowned. He motioned for her to sit down on the love seat.
Caitlyn bent over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a bit.” She turned to Chloe and smiled. “Did you enjoy yourself this evening?”
Chloe’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, yeah.”
Caitlyn walked out and shut the door. Clark sat up on the bed, sauntered over to Chloe and sat in a comfortable chair across from her. He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yes, young lady. I’d say you definitely enjoyed yourself this evening.” He sighed heavily. “Claire told me - albeit accidentally - that you’d been having sex.” He crossed his arms. “I’d hoped maybe she was wrong. Well, obviously she wasn’t.”
She blushed. “What are you talking about, Daddy?”
“Chloe, over the years, I have come to recognize many smells. And right now, I smell Ben all over you. I also smell a *lot* of pheromones.”
Chloe swallowed hard and said in a small voice, “Oh.” She bit her lip. “Guess I should know that we can’t keep anything from you.”
He sighed. “I purposefully keep myself from knowing everything, Chloe, but this is something I can’t ignore. For Pete’s sake, girl, you are only sixteen. You’ve always told me that you wanted to wait to have sex until you were married. And Claire always said that she wanted to wait until at least after high school, but now I’ve found out that both of you have had sex at the age of fifteen. I’m very disappointed, but at least I know what happened with Claire. Care to tell me what happened that made you decide to have sex at such a young age?”
She bit her lip and hung her head. “I’m sorry, Daddy. It’s just... I don’t know what happened... I just... I’d planned on waiting. Really, I had. Ben was always a perfect gentleman. But then, I don’t know. One night, it’s like I just suddenly had the overwhelming feeling of wanting to have sex. It was so strong. I felt like I just had to... had to... you know. I guess you’d say, I was really, really...”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” Clark rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So let me get this straight. You suddenly had an overwhelming urge to have sex. Almost like you couldn’t control it?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I think it all kind of took Ben by surprise, too.”
He closed one eye and raised the other eyebrow. “But he was still willing.”
She raised her shoulders in a slow shrug. “Well, yeah.”
Clark blew out his breath. “Did you happen to be on a double date with Claire and Alex? Did he get really close to you? I mean physically close to you?”
She cocked her head. “Yes. How did you know? We all went to the Winter Dance together at school. That was in January. Alex is such a creep. I tried to tell Chloe that.” She sighed. “Anyway, our dresses were similar, and even though they were different colors, I guess he couldn’t tell us apart that night. I’m not sure he ever could for that matter. He grabbed me and started dancing with me. It was a slow dance. I didn’t want to seem rude, so I danced with him. He wanted to pull me just a little too close, and I finally ended the dance early. But then I felt a little faint, too. That’s it.”
He closed his eyes. “Hmm... And after that, you became very amorous? I mean that night was the first time you and Ben had sex?”
She blushed. “Yes, it was the first time.”
Clark twisted his mouth. “That’s because Alex was in some kind of dirt bike accident - in Smallville - a few years ago. He has red and green shards of kryptonite embedded in his leg. I’ve told you about red kryptonite and how it can affect us differently. Well, this particular bit evidently affected you in such a way that made you feel *very* amorous. Remember when Jon got the giggles? Well, that was from the kryptonite. And it made Claire think she was madly in love with Alex. And the green is probably what made you feel faint.”
Chloe didn’t say anything for a minute. When she finally spoke, she was subdued. “Hmmph. Yes, that would explain some things. I’ve seen Claire make the determination to break up with Alex, but then as soon as she would see him again, she’d get all silly again. That makes sense as to what I did, too. I never really thought I’d have sex before I got married, but once I did, I didn’t want to stop.” She grinned dreamily. “It was just so... hmmm...”
Clark chuckled dryly. “Something like that.”
She continued, “But even at that, Ben kind of put the skids on things. I found out tonight that it was because his mom was afraid you’d have him charged with statutory rape. I mean he’s seventeen and he was then, so he could potentially have been charged as an adult. Tonight was the first time since January.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Well, it takes two you know. That wouldn’t have accomplished much to have him charged with something that you were also responsible for. I hope you were safe.”
She blushed and worried her bottom lip across her teeth.
He threw his head back in frustration. “Oh, Chloe! I know you know better.”
“Well, we were safe tonight, but not the first time. It just all happened so fast and furious that first time. We were even in his car. I just... wanted it really badly.”
“That’s not the safest place in the world to have sex, you know.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, you are just lucky that you didn’t get pregnant. Do you know Claire thought she was pregnant? Thank god she’s not.”
“Pregnant? My god! I didn’t even know she’d had sex.” She stood up and started pacing. “And with that *creep* no doubt.”
He nodded. “Yes, she did. Sit back down.” He turned his head sideways and gave her an odd look. “Are you gaining weight?”
She huffed, “No! You and Ben! Besides you know it’s not likely that I’d gain weight.”
“We don’t know that for sure. We only know that’s true of full Kryptonians. What about Ben?”
She shook her head in disgust. “He seems to think I’m pregnant. I told him that’s not possible. I haven’t missed any periods.”
Clark raised an eyebrow, “Uh-huh. Well, good. He’s just worried, I suppose.” He leaned forward and took her hands. “Chloe, Alex raped Claire about a month ago. He’s been charged with her rape. He’s also committed three rapes, and he’s been charged with those, too. She will need a lot of love and support right now.”
Claire was speechless and just stared at her dad with wide eyes.
Clark bit his lip. “I know it’s hard to believe. Right now you and Jon are the only ones that know. I’ll tell everyone, but don’t mention it yet to the rest of the family. Okay? I haven’t even told Caitlyn yet.”
She launched herself into Clark’s arms. “Oh, Daddy!” She started crying and he held her while she cried.
After she’d cried for a bit, she pulled away and wiped her eyes.
Clark ran his hand through her hair. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? Okay?” As an afterthought, he said, “Oh, and Zara is here. She’s in Lara’s room.”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “She isn’t going to try to take you or Zared away from us, is she?”
He smiled. “No, honey.”
She turned and looked towards hers and Claire’s room. “Claire is asleep. I need to talk to Ben. I’m going to go see if he’s on the computer.” She bit her lip. “I don’t suppose you’d let me go over there, would you?”
“Well, you can’t drive yet. How would you explain how you got there?”
She shrugged. “Cab?” When her dad didn’t answer, she said, “Please.”
“Don’t you think you might wake his mom up? Don’t you think he might be in bed?”
“He would just now be getting home, and she was going to stay late. She probably won’t be home until around 2:00 am. Speaking of which, I’m going to get Beth an application for a scholarship from the Superman Foundation. Can you put in a good word?”
“Sure. Hmm.... I don’t want you going out this late. I should be punishing you, you know. You may not have been in control when you had sex in January, but you certainly were tonight.”
She pouted. “I’m of legal age, you know.”
“Yes, but you know what you did is against my wishes. And after all the trouble I’ve had with Zared, I’m sure you can understand that.”
“But I’m not Zared.”
He sighed heavily. “You can see if he is on the computer. Ten minutes. That’s it. Then you need to go to bed.” He stood up. “I’ll think about whether I should punish you or not.”
She pouted. “You didn’t punish Jon.”
“Jon and Hannah haven’t done what you have done.”
“Yes, they have.”
“No, they haven’t. Ask Jon,” he said with finality. “Ten minutes.”
She got up and walked out of the room. She promptly went to the balcony off the sitting room and launched into the air to go see Ben.
Clark was speaking to J’on J’onzz and didn’t notice that his daughter had disobeyed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
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