Smallville Big Bang 2012
Human Nature
Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Lois picked up the last glass tumbler and sighed. Her dish cloth turned circles inside and out as the slightly damp linen picked up the stray beads of moisture that remained. She could see Chloe from where she stood in the kitchen. She was sitting under one of the trees in the front yard, her pale legs stretched out in front of her as she garnered the strength from the midday sun. Just like Lois, her hand stroked her swollen belly, turning circles across the taut skin. She emulated the motion of the washing up that Lois was drying.
“It has been one hundred and fifty six days since I saw your Daddy. But that’s okay. He’s going to come back. I know he will. Lois said that he’ll be fine.”
Chloe smiled as her belly moved, the child shifting within.
“Is she still out there under the tree?” Jonathan asked as he picked up the glass that Lois has placed down on the bench in front of him. They had a routine now. The doctor had told them that Chloe needed routine, stability.
“It’s not good for her you know. If the sun gave Clark the powers that he had … just imagine what they’re doing to the baby.”
After the partial collapse of Luthor Mansion, Jonathan and Martha had been reluctant to divulge Clark’s secret, his true paternity and heritage. Three days after Chloe’s doctor had confirmed her pregnancy, the Kent’s knew that they had no other choice. They were going to need Lois.
“A lot of it was trial and error on our part. We had no way of knowing what was normal for Clark and what wasn’t.”
Lois threw the fraying plaid cloth over her shoulder placed her hands on the edge of the counter. Martha crouched down and handed Chloe a gladioli in bloom. Martha was never too far from Chloe’s side. The winter had passed and the spring was anew. Lambs had been born and the horses in foal.
“Clark loved this time of year,” Jonathan told Lois. “All the crops are in bloom and we’re ready for harvest. If only he could see Chloe right now. I think that’s one bloom he’d be extra proud of,” he chuckled.
“I still don’t get it,” Lois shrugged. “If Clark had super-speed, why didn’t he get out of the house?”
“I’ve asked myself so many times that it’s starting to wear thin, Lois. He was weak, his body was sick. I suppose he just used up all the energy he had trying to find Chloe.”
An audible scream from Chloe startled the pair alerted them to the commotion outside. A lone figure made short work of the long drive that preceded the farm house. His hair was dark and unkempt and it covered the back of his neck in loose waves. The closer he got the more detail Lois could make out. His jeans were tight, his body was thick set and his arms well defined, just like the rest of him. Lois gasped.
“Is that?” Jonathan paused, unsure of how his next statement might have an affect on Lois. “Is that Clark?”
Lois didn’t acknowledge Jonathan, nor did she give a reply. She’d fled the kitchen and he heard the unmistakable racket of the screen door slamming and his gaze turned to the window where Lois streaked across the front lawn to support Chloe who was huddled in Martha’s arms sobbing.
Lois threw her hands up in the air as the man approached the three women and Jonathan looked on helplessly.
“You bastard. Where the hell have you been? You just disappear for months at a time without letting anybody know that you’re alright?”
Clark frowned and side-stepped Lois and stood in front of Martha and Chloe. Chloe whimpered and turned in Martha’s arms. Clark surveyed her body, her swollen abdomen and her breasts. He smiled at Chloe and held out his hand. But Chloe shook her head.
“I just wanted to introduce myself,” he told Martha, confused as he rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture of frustration. The long, jagged scar that bisected his eyebrow stood out and he fingered it self consciously, pressing his thumb against his temple.
“Clark?”
Again, Clark smiled. “That’s right. I’m Clark Kent. I’m looking for Martha and Jonathan Kent who live here. Do you know where I might be able to find them? I could be wrong, but I … I think I’m their son.”
Clark glanced back at Chloe. There was something so achingly familiar about her. It set his blood alight. He struggled to suppress the fierce compulsion. He had already upset her once, but the aroma of her hormones engulfed his senses. His ears picked up the sound of rapid foot falls against the crisp blades of summer spring grass. Jonathan appeared behind his wife.
“I’m Jonathan Kent. I own this farm. What can I do for you, Son?”
“Hello, Sir,” Clark stuttered, bothered by the affect that Chloe had over him. “My name is Clark Kent, and I have reason to believe that you are my father.”
Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Lois picked up the last glass tumbler and sighed. Her dish cloth turned circles inside and out as the slightly damp linen picked up the stray beads of moisture that remained. She could see Chloe from where she stood in the kitchen. She was sitting under one of the trees in the front yard, her pale legs stretched out in front of her as she garnered the strength from the midday sun. Just like Lois, her hand stroked her swollen belly, turning circles across the taut skin. She emulated the motion of the washing up that Lois was drying.
“It has been one hundred and fifty six days since I saw your Daddy. But that’s okay. He’s going to come back. I know he will. Lois said that he’ll be fine.”
Chloe smiled as her belly moved, the child shifting within.
“Is she still out there under the tree?” Jonathan asked as he picked up the glass that Lois has placed down on the bench in front of him. They had a routine now. The doctor had told them that Chloe needed routine, stability.
“It’s not good for her you know. If the sun gave Clark the powers that he had … just imagine what they’re doing to the baby.”
After the partial collapse of Luthor Mansion, Jonathan and Martha had been reluctant to divulge Clark’s secret, his true paternity and heritage. Three days after Chloe’s doctor had confirmed her pregnancy, the Kent’s knew that they had no other choice. They were going to need Lois.
“A lot of it was trial and error on our part. We had no way of knowing what was normal for Clark and what wasn’t.”
Lois threw the fraying plaid cloth over her shoulder placed her hands on the edge of the counter. Martha crouched down and handed Chloe a gladioli in bloom. Martha was never too far from Chloe’s side. The winter had passed and the spring was anew. Lambs had been born and the horses in foal.
“Clark loved this time of year,” Jonathan told Lois. “All the crops are in bloom and we’re ready for harvest. If only he could see Chloe right now. I think that’s one bloom he’d be extra proud of,” he chuckled.
“I still don’t get it,” Lois shrugged. “If Clark had super-speed, why didn’t he get out of the house?”
“I’ve asked myself so many times that it’s starting to wear thin, Lois. He was weak, his body was sick. I suppose he just used up all the energy he had trying to find Chloe.”
An audible scream from Chloe startled the pair alerted them to the commotion outside. A lone figure made short work of the long drive that preceded the farm house. His hair was dark and unkempt and it covered the back of his neck in loose waves. The closer he got the more detail Lois could make out. His jeans were tight, his body was thick set and his arms well defined, just like the rest of him. Lois gasped.
“Is that?” Jonathan paused, unsure of how his next statement might have an affect on Lois. “Is that Clark?”
Lois didn’t acknowledge Jonathan, nor did she give a reply. She’d fled the kitchen and he heard the unmistakable racket of the screen door slamming and his gaze turned to the window where Lois streaked across the front lawn to support Chloe who was huddled in Martha’s arms sobbing.
Lois threw her hands up in the air as the man approached the three women and Jonathan looked on helplessly.
“You bastard. Where the hell have you been? You just disappear for months at a time without letting anybody know that you’re alright?”
Clark frowned and side-stepped Lois and stood in front of Martha and Chloe. Chloe whimpered and turned in Martha’s arms. Clark surveyed her body, her swollen abdomen and her breasts. He smiled at Chloe and held out his hand. But Chloe shook her head.
“I just wanted to introduce myself,” he told Martha, confused as he rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture of frustration. The long, jagged scar that bisected his eyebrow stood out and he fingered it self consciously, pressing his thumb against his temple.
“Clark?”
Again, Clark smiled. “That’s right. I’m Clark Kent. I’m looking for Martha and Jonathan Kent who live here. Do you know where I might be able to find them? I could be wrong, but I … I think I’m their son.”
Clark glanced back at Chloe. There was something so achingly familiar about her. It set his blood alight. He struggled to suppress the fierce compulsion. He had already upset her once, but the aroma of her hormones engulfed his senses. His ears picked up the sound of rapid foot falls against the crisp blades of summer spring grass. Jonathan appeared behind his wife.
“I’m Jonathan Kent. I own this farm. What can I do for you, Son?”
“Hello, Sir,” Clark stuttered, bothered by the affect that Chloe had over him. “My name is Clark Kent, and I have reason to believe that you are my father.”