Trace Amounts

Disclaimer: Because I've been thinking about this and I would think it would be an unfortunate possibility where Alicia and that Lead bracelet are concerned.

"As we lay Alicia Baker-Kent to her eternal rest in the Earth itself, we pray to God that he shall watch over her as his Angels guide her Soul to its final resting place in the Heavens above. Where she shall never know pain but ever lasting joy in his Light. Amen."

"Amen." Came the gathered murmurs of the Mourners, Clark Kent's perhaps the loudest as tears came down his face over the loss of his wife.

Over the years, Alicia Baker-Kent had been slowly exposed to trace amounts of Lead in her system in order to keep her from using her gift of Teleportation unless it was a very serious emergency. Had anyone really given the matter any serious thought, they would have realized what a horrible idea the whole thing was to begin with. As over time, the exposure had started to effect her in various ways and even making her a bit on on the toxic side to the Daxamite race as would be discovered a number of years later. Her rising health issues had begun roughly 4 years after she begun to wear the Lead Bracelet that had been made with her in mind at Belle Reeve. None of them truly thinking of the potential consequences.

As they had thought it would be alright given her uniqueness thanks to Kryptonite exposure and later, rightly getting their asses sued by the Kents and the state of Kansas since Martha had pushed it hard thanks to her role as her state's Senator. At first, no one had realized what was making the beautiful Alicia so sick at random times until she finally went to Dr. Hamilton about 13 years after it had started. Who had been horrified to realize what was going on with her and why her pregnancy with her's and Clark's first and only child, Ryan, had been so damned hard on her. To the point it had nearly killed her. Ryan himself had been shown to have his own health issues but thanks to his exposure to the Lead in his mother's system while in the womb, it had surprisingly given him a resistance to Kryptonite.

But like his mother, would be toxic to Daxamites through skin contact. Once they had realized the cause, Alicia was no longer allowed to wear the bracelet, not that she or Clark had an issue with that given the circumstances. But unfortunately, the damage had been done and even with certain advances in medical knowledge, there was little that could be done for her. Even advanced races in the Universe weren't able to do much for her and since cloning hadn't been perfected yet, neither Clark or Alicia wanted to risk it. It had been estimated Alicia would likely only have an additional ten to fifteen years left to live and the whole thing had nearly broken the Baker-Kent family apart as she felt he should find someone else until he finally got through to her that he wasn't going anywhere.

And that she was stuck with him no matter what. His words had left her rather tearful but also relieved he wouldn't leave. Her health issues had made it hard at times for the family but they pulled through no matter what. And as it would turn out, her prognosis for a certain amount of years left would turn out to be wrong by a number of years. Living a whole extra 32 years after learning the truth until it finally became too much for her. Most weren't sure if it was because of the Kryptonite Exposure from years in the past or something else that had allowed her to live for as long as she had but they were grateful none the less. "Dad?" Asked Ryan, now an adult, a waver in his voice easily heard.

Who'd been so named after a friend of his father's who had passed away at a young age. The two a short time later being the only ones left at Alicia's grave. "Yeah, son?"

"I miss her."

"I do too..."

The father/son duo hugged one another tightly as they cried together for their loss of such an amazing woman. The whole thing making Ryan even more fearful that his fate would become much like his own mother's thanks to the Lead in his system.

Author's Notes: Makes me want to shed a tear or two now thanks to the emotional gut punch it gave me while writing.