"I'll go check on the kids, you lock up?" Lois asked as she opened the front door.
"Yeah, I'll lock up."
"Don't take long, Mr. 10 time Kerth winner." Lois said seductively and headed up the stairs wielding a wicked smile. Clark returned the smile, happy that his life was so full to overflowing with goodness, friends, family, children and all of the good things this life had to offer.
He hurried through the rituals of locking the house, it was more of a formality at the Kent home rather than a necessity, admired the cleanliness of the kitchen, his children had managed to do their chores and do them with effectiveness he noted, and he headed up the stairs to join his absolutely stunning wife. As he jogged up the stairs he tuned into his super hearing, checking on his children, listening for their ever present heartbeats.
His oldest, the twins, were both in their rooms, hearts beating at their fierce Kryptonian pace. He heard his youngest, another set of twins-that was when Lois had declared that she would not be having any more children (Dr. Klein had been more than just a little wrong about their ability to have children)—beating at their rapid human Kryptonia hybrid pace. And then he listened closely for the one heart in the middle. The one that beat at human pace, the one that sometimes got left out of the action-something he had Lois had discussed on the way home that night-and he heard nothing. That steady beat wasn't there. His body tingled with panic as he focused his hearing and listened, and listened so hard that he heard two cats yoweling two miles away, but he did not hear the beat of his middle daughter's heart. He rushed to the door and opened it. Lights were off, and there appeared to be something in the bed. He quickly pulled the covers away, expecting the worst, and found the cats, that were always dutifully by her side, sleeping peacefully in Mary's bed.
"Lois!" He yelled.
CKCKCKCKCKCKCKC
"You be careful young lady." The bus driver said as he let Mary off in Smallville.
"I will. Thank you sir." Mary said as she got off the bus. She knew her way around Smallville, she spent the last several summers there. She always felt more comfortable in Smallville, always felt like she belonged there. In the last couple of years she had felt like the farm was more of her home than her own home was. And after what happened last night, she definitely knew she didn't belong in the two story house on the outskirts of Metropolis, so she began her journey to the Kent farm one painful step at a time.
The sun was just coming over the corn when she got to the familiar house. The door opened before she even raised her hand to knock. Martha Kent, with tears streaming down her face pulled the young teenager to her and hugged her with a ferocity that was usually reserved for those who had been lost, or those that were thought to be dead.
"We were so worried. Your dad called. He and your mom were so scared. When he didn't find you in your bed…"
That was when Mary broke down. "Please don't make me go back there." She said through her tears. "Please Grammy, please don't make me go." Martha hugged her granddaughter tighter.
"Shhhh." Jonathan appeared behind Martha.
"Mary!" he said and joined the hug. "We were so worried about you."
"Come on sweetie let's go inside. Are you hungry?" Martha asked trying to get herself under control.
"I'll go call Lois and Clark."
"Please Grandpa, don't let them come and get me." Mary pleaded
"What happened?" Martha asked as she helped Mary with her book bag.
"I just don't fit." Mary said as she wiped her almond eyes. Martha pushed black hair from her granddaughter's face and was once again amazed at how much Mary looked like her father. Dark complexion, black hair, almond eyes that had made more than one person ask Martha if she had adopted Clark from China or Vietnam.
"What do you mean you don't fit sweetie?" Martha began busying herself making breakfast while Jonathan snuck into the other room to call his son to let him know that his daughter was here safe and sound and not to worry.
Mary shrugged and put her head on the kitchen table. "Mary Katherine that isn't an answer, your mom and dad taught you better than that." She sat up, pushed long bangs out of her eyes, making her look more vulnerable than a 14 year old girl should.
"I'm just not important enough. Mom and Dad forget that I'm there."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is." Mary nodded, and drew her knees up on the chair and rested her chin on her knees. "I've asked mom every week for the last four weeks if she would go shopping with me. I don't want anything. I don't even want her to buy me lunch, or a smoothie or the other things that the other girl's mom's do for them, I just want to spend a day with her. She spends time with Emily all of the time. And when she isn't with Emily she's with the younger ones, but there just isn't time for me." She took a deep breath and continued. "And when I was little, Dad used to put me on his back and he'd take me flying." Martha turned long enough to see the broken hearted girl start to cry again. Her voice began to falter as she continued. "We'd go to the mountains and we'd go hiking together, because mom and the others don't like that outdoors stuff. But I love spending time outside with him, and learning about the animals and the plants." She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. "Maybe that's why I like it so much here." She hugged her knees closer. "But now that the twins can fly, he doesn't take me anymore. He goes with the twins and teaches them how to fly. I'm not invited." The tears came faster and fiercer.
"Sweetheart, have you told him that?"
"I tried. It came out wrong. I'm not always very good with my words."
"That's not a very good reason to run away and make your parents worry. Your mom was crying. Your mom never cries."
"I didn't think they'd worry."
"Now, you stop this self-pitying nonsense. Your parents love you. Love you more than anything in the world. And we're going to get some food into you, and your father is going to come and pick you up. You made a very very poor choice young lady, and you should be ashamed." Martha came around and put a plate in front of Mary, and before she could go back to the stove she saw Mary's shoes. They had sets of burns all over the heels.
"What happened to your shoes?" Martha asked slowly as she sat in front of Mary. Her feet quickly left the chair and she hid them.
"Nothing." She said as she took a bite of bacon.
"Don't lie." Mary put down the piece of bacon and looked at her grandmother.
"I don't want to tell you."
"Let me see your feet young lady."
"No. Please no Grammy."
"Let me see your feet." Mary slowly pulled a foot up on the chair and untied the laces, and pulled the sock away, dried blood sticking to the wounds making the sock extraction that much more difficult and painful.
Martha's eyes widened. "Are…Are these burn marks?" Mary looked away.
Martha grabbed her granddaughter's chin and forced her to look at her. "Are these burn marks?"
"Yes." She said softly.
"Who hurt you?" Martha asked. Mary didn't answer. "Do I have to tell your father that someone is hurting you?" Mary looked up quickly and shook her head.
"No! No! You can't tell him. It's no big deal." She reached for her sock, Martha took it away.
"No. Your feet are in horrible shape. You can not put these dirty, bloody socks back on. What happened?" Martha asked firmly.
"We have chores." Mary started slowly after realizing that she wasn't going to get away from this line of questioning. "All five of us have chores." She licked her lips. "And when mom and dad leave, Tate and Emily make me do their chores."
"Sweetie they can't make you do their cho-" Martha stopped mid-sentence.
"They can make me do their chores. And this time, I wasn't doing them quickly enough so they…" She wiped her eyes and looked back at her grandma. "they burnt my feet. And they have dad's powers, so, it isn't like I can stop them. I'm just human." Martha put a hand to her mouth.
"That's why I don't fit there Grammy. Please don't make me go back." Martha reached over and hugged her granddaughter.