Just an FYI - these next few chapters is part of where this fic earns it's PG13 warning...
Wanted to give a heads up there...
Thanks - as ever - to Nancy, Alisha and Beth.
Last time:
Clark
"Use the keypad," I hollered. When Sam had the system put in, he'd made sure that there was a way to call all kinds of emergency personnel from all the security keypads. All she'd have to do is punch in the medical emergency code and the security system would send a signal to wherever it sent a signal to and medical help would be on its way – likely with the fire department and police in tow – and the gates would be opened so they wouldn't have to be buzzed in. It also sent a signal to Ollie and Vicki's house. There was a one-touch option, too, but then they called the house and wanted to verify an emergency and that took time. Sam had wanted something faster; a more immediate option. The emergency signals we wore wouldn't work either because that would be a very different kind of response team.
All that flew through my head as I flew through the house and I was in the kitchen in a split-second. "Sam? Come on, Sam." I tried desperately to remember what I'd learned in the CPR course Sam had sent all of us through after Pop Pop.
Was he breathing?
Yes.
Did he have a pulse?
Yes, but it seemed erratic. Where had he put the Automatic External Defibrillator? I knew he kept one for 'just in case' something happened during a fancy shindig. It would be in the wet bar, I thought. I rushed through the house, grabbed it and rushed back.
I followed the directions and hooked it up to him after I ripped his shirt open. I breathed a sigh of relief as it said he didn't need to be shocked.
I didn't realize how quickly I had done all of that until Lois rushed into the room, carrying Christopher. I'd done all of that in the time it had taken her to get from our room to the kitchen.
She stopped in her tracks at the sight of her dad on the tile floor.
"Daddy," she whispered. "No."
*~*86*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I stared out the window, sipping the coffee in my hand.
It was finally light enough to see something outside, which was good because I couldn't stand to look at outdated, inane magazines anymore. One of the Newsweeks was actually about the primary elections – the general election had been a month earlier, for crying out loud.
The doctors had been and gone several times and had admitted him to the Coronary Care Unit. They'd confirmed the heart attack. Clark had told me that he'd – literally – heard Dad fall so we knew exactly when it happened and care had been prompt.
We'd been here for several hours already and I was sure we'd be here for many more before I'd manage to tear myself away.
Last I'd heard they were talking about doing an angioplasty, but they wanted to wait another hour or two before making a final determination.
"Mrs. Kent?"
I turned to see Dr. Woods walking in the room. He was one of the top heart specialists in the country and a friend of Dad's. He'd come in on his weekend off just for Dad.
I paled at the look on his face. "It's surgery, isn't it?"
He nodded. "An angioplasty which is technically a procedure, not surgery. Your dad agreed that it's the best course of action after he looked over his charts. It should only take about an hour or so, but we need to get started," he said gently.
"Can I see him?" Tears were flowing down my cheeks.
"Of course." He turned to Clark. "One at a time."
Clark nodded. "I'll be right here."
I saw him pull his phone out to start making calls.
I wouldn't have nearly enough time with Daddy before they'd make me leave so they could get him ready.
He looked so frail lying there on the hospital bed with all kinds of wires running to him. "Daddy," I whispered hoarsely, taking his offered hand and brushing his hair off his face.
"I'm going to be just fine, Princess. Tom's the best at this and you know it."
I nodded, trying desperately to keep my tears back. "I know. He said he's going to take good care of you."
"He will." He took a wavering breath. "I need you to do something for me, too, though."
I nodded.
"I need you to take care of that grandson of mine for me. He was about all I could think about there for a few minutes."
"He woke up," I told him. "It's how we found you so fast." I couldn't tell him about *how* Clark had found him but I could tell him the why. "He was crying and kept asking for you. We finally went to look for you and that's when Clark found you in the kitchen."
"I guess I owe him a lot then. When would someone have come to the kitchen otherwise? Probably not until about an hour ago," he said glancing at the clock to confirm the time.
I nodded. "Probably."
The nurse came in, followed by other medical personnel. "You'll need to leave now, Mrs. Kent," she said gently.
I nodded, kissing Daddy's forehead gently before breathing a silent prayer and heading back out to the waiting room.
"How is he?" Vicki asked.
I shrugged and crumpled into her arms. "He looks so... fragile," I managed through the tears. "He's my Daddy; he's not supposed to be fragile."
"I know, sweetheart," she said, rocking with me. "I know."
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I didn't know what I could do with her. I watched Sam as best I could through walls and all that, but it wasn't like I could keep Lois up to speed on what was happening. As far as I could tell, everything seemed to be going fine.
When I could tell they were done, I stood and stretched. "I bet they're done here pretty quick." I looked Lois straight in the eye.
She nodded slightly, from where she was leaning against Vicki. "I bet you're right."
Five minutes later, Dr. Woods came in and told us everything had gone well and that we'd be able to see him soon.
Lois slumped in relief, her eyes closed. She had to be tired, I realized. She'd been up early the morning before and hadn't slept at all while since we'd been at the hospital.
"Hey," I said suddenly. "After you see him, why don't you go home and get some rest?"
She shook her head. She started to say something, but Jimmy chose that moment to rush into the room. He gave her a big hug and just held her for a long minute – something I probably should have been doing for a good chunk of the day.
"How is he?" he asked as he finally let her go.
"They just did an angioplasty. We can go see him soon," she told him.
"Is he going to be okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, they think so."
Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. "Billy and Serena send their love. They may stop by later."
"She's going to go home and see her son and get some rest," I told him.
Lois glared at me. "No, I'm not. I'll go home later, but I'm not leaving Daddy. Why don't you go check on Christopher if you don't think Jessica can handle it?" she snapped.
Everyone winced and the tension was practically palpable.
She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm sure Christopher is fine, but I don't really want to bring him down here. He's with Jessica." The tears flowed again. "Daddy said that Christopher saved his life."
"What?" The exclamation came from everyone else in the room.
I told them about Christopher waking up and wanting his Grandpa. Lois pointed out that it would have been hours before anyone found him otherwise. I hadn't thought about that.
Before long, Lois was taken back to see Sam and I stared out the window for a long time.
I turned suddenly. "I'm going to go see Christopher. Will you let Lois know that I'll be back in a bit?"
Everyone nodded and I left.
It was a long drive back to the house and I used the time to make some phone calls. I talked to Mom for a long time and she said she'd fly out to be with Lois. I told her that wasn't necessary.
I talked to my boss in the mailroom and Rehalia. They rearranged our schedules so we had a couple days off and said to call if there was anything else we needed. I pulled up in front of the house.
"Hey, bud," I said, picking Christopher up from amongst his toys in his play room. Sam had taken the two offices on the floor below our rooms and turned one into a play room/living area for us and the other into an office/study area for me and Lois.
"'anpa," he said.
"Grandpa's gonna be just fine, little man. Thanks to you." He gave me a big hug. Jessica went to go get lunch for all of us while I played with him.
"How's Lois doing?" she asked when she got back.
I sighed. "She's okay. A bit freaked out but that's an understatement, I think."
"I'd imagine so. I can't imagine having my dad like that."
I nodded. "Thanks for taking care of Christopher this morning. I know you were supposed to have the day off."
"No problem. I think Christopher and I are going to go to the movies with my sister and her little boy later, if that's okay. That was the only thing I had planned for today anyway."
"Sure, just tell Steve and Scott ahead of time and they'll go with you," I reminded her unnecessarily. She was as aware of the security arrangements as the rest of us.
We ate peanut butter sandwiches and then I put Christopher down for his nap. I did a few other things before I went back to talk to Jessica again.
"I'm heading back over the hospital," I told Jessica. "Holler if you need anything."
"I will. Let me know if there's any changes or anything I can do."
"Taking care of Christopher is enough for now. Lois really doesn't want him at the hospital and I can't say that I do either."
"No problem."
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
It had been a long day and it was going to get longer. I wasn't leaving.
I couldn't sit with him most of the time, but I wasn’t leaving. I wouldn't leave him alone.
Jimmy, Ollie and Vicki had tried to get me to go with Clark when he went home to check on Christopher. Serena had tried to get me to go get dinner with her somewhere besides the hospital, but I'd refused. She'd finally sent Billy to go get me something to eat from one of the nearby restaurants.
Ten minutes after he got back, Clark showed up with my favorite chocolate cake – that he had to have made at the house. He made *the* best chocolate cake. Even Vicki said so.
"Thank you," I said quietly when we were sort of half alone for a minute.
"Christopher was asking for you," he said. "And for your dad. And no problem – I figured you could go for chocolate cake right about now."
I sighed. "I don't think I want to bring him up here. Daddy'll be home in a few days, but I don't know that a seventeen month old and hospitals mix."
"Probably not," he agreed. "Maybe we can get them on the phone tomorrow or something."
He put an arm around me and pulled me to him for a second. "You need to go home and get some sleep."
I shook my head. "Not till visiting hours are over." It wasn't like they'd let us just go sit with him, but I could go in for a few minutes every hour until visiting hours were over. Everyone else was drifting off.
Billy and Serena stayed for about an hour. Jimmy stayed a bit later. Ollie and Vicki headed home about seven. Visiting hours ended at 8:30.
"You don't have to stay," I told Clark when Ollie and Vicki had left. "You could still catch them or even fly home if you wanted to."
He shook his head. "No. I'll stay with you."
"You don't have to," I reiterated.
"You shouldn't be alone," he said with a sigh.
I almost rolled my eyes but managed not to. Having Clark here – unfortunately – wasn't much better than being by myself, and even worse in some ways. With him here, it was hard not to think about what it would have been like if this had happened before Pop Pop.
He would have sat with me. Held my hand. Put his arm around me. Often. Not just the twelve seconds earlier. It made me want to cry.
I should have done that while I happened to be sitting near him or something and then he would have had to do something because we'd be 'in public'. Now, if I decided it was a good time to break down and cry, he'd just ignore me or sigh or something.
I sighed.
I'd wait till he was asleep to break down.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
Lois let me drive home, but I thought that was only because she'd practically fallen over in the elevator. She was so tired, but I doubted sleep would come easy to her.
It was a long drive home. Again.
She headed straight for our room when we got home.
I went to talk to Jessica and check on Christopher, who was down for the night already.
"He's doing as well as can be expected," I told her.
She let out a breath. "Good. I'm so glad to hear that."
"You're not the only one," I told her with a smile. "Was Christopher good for you?"
She sighed. "He was ancy all day. I'm not really sure what his deal was, except I think he picked up on the tension. He enjoyed 'The Incredibles' though. He liked the colors and everything."
I stilled for a moment. Superheroes. Superpowers. Secret identities. Primary colors. Capes.
I headed back into our room. Lois was in the bathroom and the water in the tub was running. That wasn't surprising. I knocked on the door.
"Lois?" I called.
"What?"
I winced. She sounded irritated. "You okay?"
I heard her sigh. "I'm fine. Just trying to relax a bit so I'll be able to sleep."
"Okay. Christopher's sleeping and Jess said she'd get up with him."
"Thanks."
The conversation was clearly over. I sighed. I wished she'd talk to me – that the distance between us hadn't grown again.
I decided not to go straight to bed.
I was sure that she'd planned on tonight being a nightgown night – Saturdays almost always were. Most of those nights, I tried to either be asleep or wait until she was asleep. There was no point in either of us being uncomfortable if we didn't have to be.
I could hear her tears start as she turned the shower on and I wished again there was something I could do to help her deal with it all.
I was flipping through the channels when she came out of the bathroom, flipping her robe over the chair on her side of the bed. I was right. Nightgown night.
"How are you?" I asked quietly.
She shrugged. "Fine."
She lay on her side and pulled the covers way up around her, covering her nearly bare back.
She jumped slightly when I spoke again.
"Are you really okay, Lois?"
She nodded without looking at me. "Yeah. I'm just tired and want to go to sleep."
I sighed and reached over to flip the light off.
I scooted under the covers and stared at the stars through the ceiling. I knew it would be a while before Lois would actually sleep and if she decided she wanted to talk, I wanted to be awake.
My mind wandered back to the whole 'Incredibles' thing.
I'd seen the previews and all that, even if I hadn't seen the movie yet. The basic premise was that there were superheroes with secret identies.
Could I do something like that someday?
I helped when I could without threatening my identity or anything like that. It wasn’t much. I stopped a mugging a few weeks earlier, but that was mostly just because I'd shown up, not because I'd done anything special.
It was definitely something to keep in the back of my mind and talk to Mom about sometime. I didn't think I'd do anything before I graduated from college. And there was the whole Lana thing to deal with, too.
About three thousand things had to happen before I was ready to even consider that, but I was on about twenty seven of that list.
I sighed as Lois' breathing slowed.
I rolled over and tried to sleep.
*****
TBC
