Outsiders
Chapter 4; Having a Family
Josh's house
Josh and his Uncle Kev spoke to the Kents and social services the next day about where Ryan would go. The Kents had offered to put him up but it was clear to everyone that it would be far easier for Ryan to stay with Josh since they had plenty of room and also he would get medical attention around the clock as long as Uncle Kev was there.
It took a few hours to iron everything out but in the end it was decided that the best place for Ryan to go was to Josh's house, something that even Clark had to admit was true, their house just wasn't big enough for another person and their finances weren't what Josh and his uncle could offer.
Ryan was more then happy to live with Josh, someone that he had gotten to know well in only a few days, he had made it clear that he wanted to spend time with Clark and Josh's Uncle wouldn't have even dreamed of stopping him.
Josh had just shown Clark out of the house after he had helped tidy up the third bedroom upstairs and move their young friend in. He wandered back upstairs to find Ryan tucked into his covers with Josh's sketch book, the one he filled with random pictures.
"How are you feeling?" Josh asked as he settled down on the end of the bed propping himself up on one elbow.
"Better thanks." Ryan looked up at him with a smile. "It's nice to be out of the hospital. It's nice to have somewhere like this to stay."
"You're not just staying here. This is your home now." Josh told the younger boy with a small smile.
"At least I cant hear anything anymore." Ryan said. "It's been quiet ever since your last treatment."
"Do you miss it?" Josh asked.
"Sometimes," Ryan shrugged. "But there are some secrets which aren't mine to know. How did you do it?"
"What do you mean?" Josh asked with a small frown.
"Before your Uncle saved you." Ryan asked causing Josh to jolt into a standing position and freeze up. "How did you go through each day?"
Josh stared at him as he struggled to speak. He couldn't remember it all now that so many years had passed but some of the days that he had lived under his relatives roof would never leave his memory. "How?"
"I saw glimpses of it when you were healing me." Ryan explained with tears in his eyes. "It's what made me realise that I could live without knowing other peoples thoughts."
Josh felt tears on his cheeks but couldn't move or speak, someone else knew of his past. Without even realising that Ryan had stood, let alone closed the gap between them, he felt the slightly shorter boy's arms go around him in a tight hug.
Josh tensed even further but then relaxed as he lay his head sideways across the top of Ryan's hair and wrapped his own arms around the fourteen year old. Ryan had had a bad childhood too, carted around by his stepfather and abused before being experimented on for almost six months. If anyone understood his pain it would be Ryan.
He was glad that now, Ryan had a place to live and wasn't at risk of dying even if it was at the cost of his mind-reading abilities.
Josh woke up the next morning in Ryan's bed with the smaller boy's head on his chest. He smiled wondering how great it would be to have a younger brother that he could look after and comfort like he'd never had before Uncle Kev had saved him.
XOXOXOXOXOX
1 month later
Ryan settled into Josh's house easily and was happy enough when they were left on their own. Josh would always take Ryan along with him to the Talon when he graced the coffee shop with his presence and whenever he had a shift at the hospital Ryan would spend the time with Clark.
He carried on getting to know Lana and was quickly becoming close with the girl since she, like Josh, was an orphan who lived with the Aunt who wasn't always around to help out.
Winter was fast approaching though unlike most of the places he'd live it didn't get nearly as cold in Smallville. Not much happened with him, Ryan and his Uncle to make them anything over than happy except for the normal teenager things that sometimes had nerves strung out. Without Uncle Kev around and with Ryan for the first time in a long time being able to express himself like a normal fourteen year old, Josh was having to be the dutiful older brother and look after him.
For the last month Ryan had been getting nightmares, whether he had a good day or bad they always hit him with only a few nights that he slept peacefully. On the nights that Ryan woke shaking and scared he'd creep into Josh's room and crawl under the covers. Most of the time Josh wouldn't know until he woke in the morning with the younger boy in his arms whilst sometimes Ryan would be sobbing and shaking so much that Josh would wake and have to comfort him to get him to fall back to sleep.
It was tough on Josh and for a time he got aggravated by it but he always remembered that having Ryan as a younger brother was well worth the time he had to help the boy out. He had to wonder how life would've been if Uncle Kev hadn't found him and he hoped that if that had been the case somebody else would've tried to help him.
He'd found out over the last month that small things happened in Smallville that were hard to believe and if it wasn't for his magical abilities and Ryan's old mental abilities he would've thought they were just fanciful tales. Firstly there was the incident just after Ryan had moved in when Josh had discovered that a guy called Ian Randell, a straight A student, had cheated with both Lana and Chloe at the same time.
Flashback
Josh walked into the Torch to wait for Ryan who had spent his free session with Chloe and was supposed to wait for Josh in the small school papers office so that they could go into town and do some food shopping before going home but when he walked in it was to find Chloe attached to one of the smartest boy in the year, Ian Randell, who was supposed to be leaving school a year early.
The two jumped apart when he started to speak to Chloe out of habit and Chloe went red with embarrassment. Josh hide his smirk behind his hand and winked at the girl who so obviously had a fascination with Smallville's own farm boy.
"I'm guessing by that show of indecency that Ryan isn't around then?" Josh said and ignored the irritated glare that he received from Ian.
"No, he left half an hour ago." Chloe muttered. "I think he went to the Talon."
Josh nodded before turning to leave but he didn't miss the fleeting look of worry that passed across Ian's face. Josh frowned as he left, Ryan wouldn't have left without leaving him a note, Josh figured that Ian had something to do with it.
He hurried to the Talon and opened the door not ten minutes later. He dropped his book bag on his normal table with a slam before heading to the small boy sitting at the counter talking to one of the waitresses. "Ryan!" He kept the annoyance out of his voice as best as possible but Ryan, even without his mind-reading abilities, was a very astute boy.
"I'm sorry, Josh!" Ryan looked scared. "I couldn't stay there, I don't like Ian."
"What do you mean?" Josh asked with a frown, Ryan liked almost everyone. "What did he do to you?"
"It's not what he did." Ryan clasped his hands. "I mean he glared at me till I left but it's more how I feel." Ryan gave him a knowing look and Josh frowned. Not once since Ryan had been cured had he felt anything in the way of thoughts.
"We'll discuss it later." He looked to the waitress, a girl he recognised as a Senior at school. "Where's Lana?"
"She's out on a study date." The girl told them making Josh frown, Lana hardly needed help to study and even if she did she normally came to him. He wasn't jealous but not once in the last month had she shown any interest in any person but the all worshiped Clark Kent.
"With who?" Josh asked.
"Ian Randell." The girl asked.
"He gets around doesn't he?" Ryan muttered.
"I just left him with Chloe," Josh said, "He must have stood Lana up. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Thanks." Josh told the girl before picking up his book bag, he paid for the drink that Ryan finished off before they left.
End Flashback
It hadn't been until the next day when Josh talked to Lana about it that they realised that Ian had been with both of them that day. They'd discovered to their shock and to the girls near harm that Ian had the ability to be in two places at once. He'd tried to kill them but there'd been an accident and one of the Ian's had been knocked unconscious and the other fallen to his death. Ian was now in a mental institute.
Then there was the return of Lana's ex-boyfriend, turned Marine, who had supposedly vanished from contact. He didn't remember that Lana had split up with him and it had caused all sorts of trouble for everyone when Lana decided that the returned Hero deserved her affection and had left him in the belief that they were still together. This event though had cause Josh and Ryan more trouble since when helping Lana in the Talon one evening, he had arrived. Ryan and pulled Josh to the side and told him that he felt weird, like he had with Ian. Ryan had met Whitney before and this didn't feel like him.
They hadn't had much of an opportunity to explore this new sixth sense of Ryan's but Josh trusted his little brothers instincts. He'd sent Ryan in Lana's back room to call Clark before he confronted the supposed Ex-Marine.
Flashback
Josh dropped onto one of the stools at the bench just as Lana handed Whitney a drink. "Lana, I hope you don't mind but I told Ryan to call Clark. He's supposed to be spending tomorrow with him but the phones down at our place." He narrowed his eyes slightly at the girl and she wisely didn't bring up the fact that Josh had a cell phone.
"That's fine, Josh." Lana told him with a smile and poured him a glass of water knowing that even if she offered something else, Josh would just ask for water. "You two haven't been properly introduced yet have you? This is Whitney Fordman. Whitney this is Josh Ackervey. He's knew here."
"Pleased to meet you." Whitney said though there was a glint in his eye. Josh shook his hand and couldn't help but feel a strange twinge with his healing powers, something was definitely wrong here.
"Tell me, were you fighting in France?" Josh asked trying to trick him into a wrong answer.
"No," Whitney said spoiling Josh's fun. "They didn't need us there." He obviously wasn't as clever as he thought.
Lana tensed and Josh knew she'd seen the trap and not expected him to fall for it, it was rather obvious after all. Josh stood up again and put some distance between them, though discreetly.
"So," Josh asked with a faked smile. "Who are you?"
"What?" Whitney growled.
"Come off it, I never knew Whitney but there are some that did and even I can see you're not acting like him." Josh smirked slightly at Lana's shocked face but smirk drained off of his face as the features of the taller man began to change, he shrunk slightly before his face became that of a she. She glared at him.
"Tina!?" Lana asked with shock.
"Who's Tina?" Josh asked as 'Tina' turned slightly to Lana.
"She tried to kill me!" Lana gasped as she stepped back and knocked over a glass from the counter sending it tumbling to the ground with a crash. Josh slipped smoothly into a fighting stance.
"Lana, I'm not going to hurt you this time. I was wrong before. I want to be with you forever." Tina said with a sick smile.
"Leave her alone." Josh wasn't sure how bad Tina was but by the look on Lana's face he wasn't going to leave it to chance. Tina turned back to him and smirked and darted forwards. She was as slow as any untrained human and Josh dodged her punch and returned with his own aiming for his arm.
She growled out as he deadened it by hitting her shoulder joint sharply and she lashed out in anger. He felt the blow before he could dodge it and stumbled at the force of the blow. She was so strong!
Before he could recover from the blow to his chest she hitting him on the side of the head. He fell down as his body went limp and could only watch as the world went black as Tina grabbed Lana and ran.
End Flashback
Josh had woken in a hospital bed a day later with Ryan clutching his hand from where he was sleeping with his head on the bed beside him. His Uncle Kev had driven back as soon as word that Josh had been attacked and hospitalised had reached him. Josh had a skull fracture as well as a serious concussion. He stayed in hospital for another two days after he had awoken and was very glad when Clark and Lana had walked in on the first day looking tired but fine.
Lana had been kidnapped and trapped in a cell. Clark had rescued her as was his habit and Lana had wanted to thank him and Clark had even thanked him for trying to protect her. It was shame though that Josh couldn't heal his own wounds or he'd have been able to cut the three days in hospital short as well as the six days bed rest he'd been assigned and Ryan, after finding him unconscious and bleeding on the floor of the Talon, had forced him to respect.
Then Lana had been torn up over a sudden secret affair between her mother and someone who had turned out to be Lana's true father. Josh had kept well enough alone with that one since it wasn't something that he really had any experience in.
Then one day Ryan had come running in Josh's room whilst he was working on his homework.
Flashback
Josh slammed his chemistry text closed as Ryan came tumbling into his room with water pouring off of him. It was raining outside and Ryan was supposed to be at the Kent's farm since it was a Saturday. Josh jumped to his feet with irritation towards Clark that he had let Ryan walk home with the rain as it was.
"Why didn't Clark drop you home?" Josh asked with an angry glint in his eye. "Why are you home so early?"
Josh came to a sudden halt as he realised that Ryan's eyes were red from crying. "What happened?" Josh's voice softened instantly as the younger boy tumbled into his arms.
"Clark and Chloe were kissing." Ryan mumbled, his voice muffled from where his face was pressed into Josh's shoulder. "Pete arrived and they decided to go out but they didn't want to take as well. Clark said it wasn't a problem and to just leave me there."
"He did what!?" Josh growled as he drew Ryan down with him onto his seat with the smaller boy on his lap.
"Pete pushed me away when I tried to stop them. They were being strange." Ryan sobbed. "They hate me."
"Was Chloe like that as well?" Josh asked. He'd expect rudeness from Pete, maybe not Clark but definitely not Chloe.
"She called me a bore as they left." Ryan was shaking. Josh soothed him and rocked him slightly as his Uncle had done to him so many years ago and as he now did to Ryan whenever he woke from a nightmare.
"I'm going to call Mr And Mrs Kent and find out what is going on." Josh hugged him tightly before forcing the smaller boy to his feet. "You go run yourself a bath."
Ryan nodded slowly but when Josh met his eye he knew Ryan was scared. "Clark loves you, Ryan. I don't know what's up with him at the moment but it isn't him."
He kissed Ryan's forehead before he left the room. "I'll still kill him next time I see him though!" He growled to himself as he grabbed the receiver for the phone and punched in the Kent Farm's number.
Martha Kent picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Kent? It's Josh." Josh didn't bother hiding his irritation nor try to be less than blunt. "Where is Clark?"
"I don't know, Josh." She said kindly though her voice was strained. "He went out with Pete and Chloe after Ryan left."
"You mean after they forced him to leave?" Josh snapped unkindly. "How could you let Ryan leave and walk the half an hour back to here in this rain? I'll be lucky if I don't have to take him to the hospital with hypothermia!"
"Is he ok?" She asked with real concern and Josh softened slightly, she wasn't directly responsible for her son's actions after all.
"He should be fine." Josh sighed. "Why did Clark flip out at him though?"
"I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." She told him though Josh could almost hear the lie in her voice.
"Misunderstanding seem to happen a lot around Clark." Josh snapped. "I don't care what you son says to me when he's in these moods, Mrs. Kent, but my Uncle and I are responsible for Ryan's mental health after everything he's been through. What Clark did today is inexcusable, no matter the circumstances."
"I'm sure when Clark is feeling better he'll apologise." Mrs. Kent told him.
"Until I'm sure that something like this wont happen again Clark will stay away from Ryan." Josh told her bluntly. "You tell Clark to keep his distance from Ryan unless he or I say otherwise."
She sighed but she knew that Josh and his Uncle could easily take this further than they would. "I understand, I'll pass on the message."
Josh hung up before going in search of hot food and drink for his troubled younger brother.
End Flashback
That had been a week ago and Ryan still refused to see Clark. He had waited after each class for Josh to walk him to the next to prevent Chloe, Pete or Clark from going anywhere near them. Josh had even stormed into the Torch with Lana one day and ripped the three apart demanding an explanation for their mistreatment of Ryan.
Flashback
Josh stormed into the Torch with Lana behind him. He'd just put Ryan into his next class before running into Lana in the corridor. They all had a free that hour so Josh had planned to go and have a word with the three. He told Lana everything that had happened with Ryan and she was just as annoyed.
"I cant believe they'd do something like that. I know Pete isn't fond of you and Clarks a but wary of you but I don't believe any of them would do this to Ryan. Especially not Chloe!" Lana gasped before picking up her pace towards the School Newspapers office where she knew they'd find them.
Josh snapped open the door rather violently making the three occupants jump slightly. The three gave the normally quiet Josh strange looks. "Don't look at me like that!" Josh snapped at them as he paced across the room to the window seat and dropped his book bag down onto it with a soft thump. "What the hell were you three playing at on Saturday!?"
Chloe tried to explain but Josh shut her up with a sharp gesture and a glare making it clear he wasn't finished. "Josh came home soaked through and scared because you three decided that he wasn't worth knowing!" He growled out. "He's been scared to even sleep the last two nights. You three know more than most others what he's been through in his life and now you do this?"
They glanced nervously at each other before glancing at Lana who didn't offer them any help. Finally Josh had had enough. "Well?" He growled dangerously.
"You see," Chloe began, "There was this Rave."
"You kicked him out to go to a rave?" Josh cried. "A rave? In Smallville!?"
"No!" She said shocked at the idea. "We went to a rave Friday night and we got bitten by a strange bug down in the cave. It made us act strangely."
"A bug bite made you act strangely?" Josh raised his eyebrows but then thought about it. It was ridiculous enough to not be a thought up excuse and it was Smallville after all. "Ok, I can accept that but I don't want any of you going near Ryan until he's settled again. Is that understood?"
They nodded mutely. Lana frowned whilst looking at Clark before she spoke up. "You didn't go to that Rave, Clark. You were at the talon."
Josh rounded on him. "Is that true?" Clark nodded. "So you didn't get bitten then?" Clark didn't answer, "This is ridiculous, Kent. I gave you a chance to prove yourself the last time you did something like this and I might have even let it slide if it had been me that you hurt but Ryan!? How could you do that to him? Insane or not it was too much. I warn you Kent, don't try to go near him until he forgives you!"
End Flashback
He'd stormed out of the room then making a scene of himself in the hallways by slamming the door rather harder than necessary. That had been the beginning of the week and now the weekend was upon them again. Ryan had avoided the three for the week and had holed himself up all of that Saturday. Josh had given the teenager space but his Uncle would be back that evening and they had planned to go shopping the next day as a family, strange as the family was.
Josh finished making a sandwich for himself and his little brother. They'd eaten dinner earlier but Ryan hadn't eaten much, he hadn't all week and Josh wanted to try to get him to eat further. He pushed open the bedroom door with his foot and walked in without knocking to find Ryan watching the small TV in the corner of the room from the top of his bed. "Hey Ry!" Josh said with a small smile. "I thought you'd be hungry."
"I'm not." Was Ryan's response. Josh dropped the plates on the trunk at the bottom of the bed nearly spilling their contents in the process as he sighed. The motion got Ryan's full attention though since Josh was normally rather graceful in his movements.
"Ryan, I know you're hungry, my senses are screaming at me!" Josh tried not to snap but he hadn't had much sleep, something that was evidently obvious to Ryan.
"You look tired." Ryan told him. Josh just sighed heavily before collapsing on the bed next to Ryan and lying out flat.
"You've had nightmares every night for the last week." Josh sighed. He'd heard Ryan tossing and turning, he'd heard the cries but Josh had not gone further than coming to Josh's door and waiting for his sleep to even out. "Why didn't you come to me? I could've help you sleep."
"I didn't…" Ryan started before he too collapsed down beside Josh though he didn't try to hug him like he'd normally do. "I trusted…" Again he trailed off but Josh knew then what the problem was.
"Ryan, no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." Josh sighed. "I'll always care about you."
Ryan looked at him with teary eyes but scooted closer on the bed and tentatively put his head on Josh's chest. Josh smiled down at him before wrapping and arm around him and pulling him closer. It was nice to have someone to care about. They lay like that for a time before Josh spoke again.
"Ryan, you know that Clark cares about you right?" Josh said and Ryan looked up at him with confused eyes. "I don't know why he's acting like he is, maybe he'll tell you since I think you know more about him then you let on."
Ryan opened his mouth but Josh just shook his head. "I don't care what it is, Ry." Josh sighed. "Secrets are kept for a reason, we are both proof of that. No matter what he did, I don't think he meant it at heart. You should give him a chance."
"Why are you defending him?" Ryan asked. "He hurt you before and you don't get along."
"We don't get along because he like to know everything that is going on and I have too many secrets." Josh explained. "He's a good guy at heart, I'm just too guarded for his liking."
Ryan gave him a smile before Josh sat them both up. "Maybe one day he'll come clean and you can too." Ryan told him happily, "Then you can be friends and I wont have to choose between you."
"I'd never make you choose, Ry!" Josh gasped in shock at the announcement but then saw that Ryan was laughing at him. He span the boy onto his back and attacked him with his fingertip in a tickle-attack that he was forced to give up only when the door opened and shut below them.
"Want to go tackle him?" Josh asked referring to his Uncle who was fast become a real Uncle to Ryan too. Ryan leapt of the bed, grabbed half a sandwich from one of the plates and dashed out of the door. Josh smiled after him before grabbing the two plates and switching off the TV.
He followed Ryan down the stairs at a more sedate but still greeted his Uncle with the same exuberance as the younger boy. He gave Ryan the rest of the sandwiches to eat with a stern look to make sure that he ate them all before he disappeared into the kitchen to make a sandwich and a drink for his Uncle Kev.
They spent the evening talking about the last week. Their Uncle was glad to see that Ryan was back to his normal chirpy self since he had had to leave him on the Tuesday in his melancholy mood. The evening was quiet and Josh was glad as they settled down to watch a late night movie with their Uncle crashed out on one of the sofas and Josh and Ryan curled up in one of the Armchairs. Ryan turned to Josh before they went to bed and Josh saw just how tired the boy was. "Can I stay with you tonight?" Ryan asked him, after several nights when Ryan had nightmares in a row he'd always asked this since he never had nightmares when he fell asleep next to him.
"Sure, Ry." Josh pulled Ryan into his side before pushing him off into his own room to get ready for bed and he went into the bathroom to get a quick shower.
XOXOXOXOXOX
The next day
"Can we pop over to Clark's this afternoon?" Ryan asked as they walked into the Talon for a drink before they found somewhere to buy lunch. Their Uncle glanced at Josh to see what he thought.
"As long as you're sure you want to see him." Josh said slowly and received a nod. He knew that Ryan hadn't slept easily the night before and spent hours keeping Josh up with his tossing and turning. Josh had just feigned sleep to allow the younger boy to think and now it was obvious that he'd been thinking about seeing Clark. "I'll take you over in a bit but don't think that I'm leaving you alone with him for even a second. Something else might make him go mad." He added with dry humour.
Josh drove their Uncle back home with their shopping before he drove back through town with Ryan to the Kent Farm. What they saw when they got there shocked them. Josh pulled the Jeep up onto the grass verge opposite the Farm's driveway and jumped out. The road was covered in black CDC vans that Josh recognised from volunteering in City hospitals.
Ryan joined him as the crossed the road and found Mr. Kent and Clark leaning against their soundly shut front gate. CDC specialists were pouring over the house, barn and fields obviously sweeping the area. "Kent." Josh said to get their attention and they both turned to see them. Clark looked troubled but a smile split his face as he caught sight of Ryan.
"Ryan?" Clark sounded nervous but he sighed thankfully when Ryan closed the gap and hugged the much taller boy's waist. Clark glanced at Josh who met his eyes steadily.
"I'm watching you!" Josh mouthed silently and to his surprise Clark just nodded. Josh turned to walk beside Mr. Kent. "Why is the CDC combing your farm?"
"Martha's in hospital, she collapsed, and they think it might be something on the farm that caused it." Mr. Kent told him.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Josh felt guilty, the last time he'd spoken to her was when he'd phoned the last weekend and he hadn't exactly been pleasant to her.
The man seemed to know what he was thinking as he glanced at his son and Ryan talking together. "Don't think for a second that Martha or I, or even Clark, disapprove of what you said last weekend. " He told Josh calmly. "Martha doesn't hold it against you. We see Ryan now compared to what he was a month ago and we know you are doing more than anyone else could. Even Clark realises that, its one of the reasons he hasn't just barged over to your house to see Ryan."
"I do realise that Clark is a good person, Mr. Kent, but we both have our secrets and until Clark accepts that he cant know mine we wont be any more friendlier than we already are." Josh told him sullenly. "Can you give Mrs. Kent my best wishes when you see her? I don't think they'll let me through the CDC quarantine even if I am working."
"Have you had much experience with them before?" He asked after nodded to show he would pass on the message.
"Apart from my own volunteering at hospitals, my Uncle is a doctor." Josh told him. "They'll do everything they can to find out what is wrong with her and do everything that can to help her. But their main concern is ensuring it doesn't spread. They'll leave the treatment to the hospital if they can."
"Thank you for bring Ryan over, I haven't seen Clark smile like that since last week." Mr. Kent told him.
"Nor Ryan either." Josh conceded. "We can stick around for a while if you want. I think Clark could do with having Ryan around for a while."
"Thanks." He said.
They spent the better part of the day sitting around, either in the open top jeep or leaning on the fence. Josh drove into town once to get coffee from the Talon and told Lana what was happening. He arrived back half an hour later but stayed in the car as the others settled in the various seat. He realised as he passed a drink to Clark that he looked slightly off. It wasn't so much looking off but he felt off. Or at least Josh's healing senses were whispering that something was wrong.
"Have you both had tests done?" Josh asked casually as they listened to the radio.
He noticed that Ryan gave him a tense look though he didn't know whether he had caught onto his senses speaking up or whether it was something else. "They haven't done anything." Clark spoke up after a small hesitation.
"So you both feel fine?" Josh raised an eyebrow and got two nods in response. "That's good then." Josh caught Ryan's eye but the smaller boy just shook his head slightly to make him drop it. He couldn't scan either of them anyway since not only would they notice but the whole CDC fleet would too and he wasn't risking that.
They hung about for a while longer before the CDC began to clear out and Josh hinted to Ryan that they had to get home to see their Uncle off back to Metropolis. Clark and Mr. Kent were fine with this since they wanted to go see Mrs. Kent at the hospital. Josh told them before they left that if they needed anything to just give him a call.
XOXOXOXOXOX
The next day
Josh took Ryan to school as normal but at Ryan's request Josh walked with him to find and talk to Chloe and Pete who were easily found in the Torch. Josh let Ryan talk with them without interfering just like he'd done with Clark the day before. It was only until Ryan had finished that he noticed the farm boy's absence in the room and the rather worn appearance of Pete.
"Where's Clark?" Josh asked with a frown. "Is he at the hospital?"
"No, he's at home." Pete said tensely.
"Is he ill?" Ryan frowned remembering Josh's look from the jeep the day before.
Pete glanced at Chloe but sighed. "Yeah, though he denies it. His dad forced him to stay home."
"Did he go into hospital?" Josh asked. Chloe looked interested at this but Pete just shrugged the question off with a shake of his head to suggest he didn't know.
The bell rang interrupting any further interrogation against Pete and Josh pulled Ryan out of the room to get him on the way to his next class. Before he could rid himself of his younger companion Ryan span on his heal and pulled Josh to the side. "You have to heal him!" Ryan demanded.
"I cant just walk into their house and heal Clark Kent!" Josh sighed.
"You did it for me!" Ryan argued.
"Don't do that!" Josh snapped rather harsher than necessary. "I cant heal everyone that gets sick, Ry, You were dying and it wasn't even your fault."
"But Clark could be dying!" Ryan argued regardless.
"Precisely! Could be, Ry!" Josh sighed again and ran his hand through his hair messing up the already wild locks.
"Please, Josh!" Ryan was close to tears. Josh placed a calming hand on his shoulder to make the boy look up at him.
"I wont let him die, Ry." Josh told him seriously. "I'll try to get in later to the CDC's section at the hospital and see if Clark went in. If I can find out what he's got then maybe I can help."
"Can I come into work with you?" Ryan asked quietly. He'd gone with him before and spent the three hour shift sitting in the nurse's station.
"Sure, Ry." Josh knew that Ryan wouldn't want to be alone at home and worrying about Clark's health so they only option was for him to stay at the Talon all evening with Lana or go with Josh since the Kent Farm was out of the question.
The rest of the day seemed to drag on for Josh as he kept worrying over what would happen. He could heal Martha Kent or heal Clark Kent but he'd probably tire himself out since it was a virus or disease rather than a broken bone. They had to be completely healed in one go or the illness would just regain ground before Josh could continue the treatment. His concern though was that whatever he did would wake them up or exhaust him and therefore give himself away.
Josh waited in the car for Ryan before they drove into town to get something to eat before going to the Talon, neither of them really enjoyed sitting at home without Uncle Kevin around and preferred to do any homework they had in the Talon, an activity that Lana didn't contest since she sometimes joined Josh to get help in her own work. Today though she was clearly upset.
"What's the matter, Lana?" Ryan asked, as perceptive as ever.
"I'm worried about Clark." She told them with a huff knowing that their was no point hiding anything from the two of them since they always saw her problems before others. "I've known him for all my life and I've never seen him ill before, especially not this ill. I just went to see him, he was so weak."
Ryan gave Josh a scared look and Lana noticed too, she reached across the table and gripped his hand consolingly though Josh thought the motion was as much for her as for Ryan.
"Are you sure you want to come with me to the hospital, Ry?" Josh asked slipping into the nickname regardless of the fact that Ryan didn't like it in public. "I'm sure Lana wouldn't mind you staying here until I finish."
"Yeah, Ryan." Lana told them. "You can stay here with me if you want."
"No, I want to stay with Josh." Ryan muttered. Lana nodded realising that with Clark gone he only had Josh left.
"Speaking of which." Josh sighed as he gather his books. "We only have half an hour left before I have to be in work, we might as well go now."
XOXOXOXOXOX
The next day
Josh had managed to get a look at Martha Kent on the pre-tense of tidying her room, a feat only achievable because they had determined her to not to be contagious. She hadn't been awake, actually she had looked absolutely awful, her vital statistics had been appallingly low and from what he could gather by the chatter amongst the doctors and nurses she wouldn't pull through.
After school he took Ryan to the Kent farm to see Clark and was slightly shocked when they arrived to see a rather upset Chloe run from the house. She ignored them both but Josh assumed it had something to do with her crush on Clark. When Mr. Kent showed them in he looked haggard and tired and Josh didn't blame him since he had a wife in hospital and a son equally as ill in his living room.
Clark was laying on the living room sofa with a blanket over him and he did in fact look as bad as his mother. Mr. Kent left them alone and Ryan sat on the floor next to the sofa and stared at Clark with worry in his eyes. Josh walked to a position beside Ryan and held his hand over Clark as he let his healing abilities reach out to scan the farm boy.
He sighed as it finished. "He's infected with a infection, probably from the same spores as Mrs. Kent." Josh told Ryan.
"Will he be alright?" Ryan asked.
"No, Ry." Josh shock his head. "Not unless I heal him."
"Please…" Ryan started with pleasing eyes.
Josh cut him off. "I'll do it but it'll probably knock me out. You'll look after me 'till I wake up right?"
Ryan nodded furiously before moving out of the way and checking to make sure that Mr. Kent wasn't nearby. Josh knelt beside the sofa and placed his hands over Clark's body, one over his neck and the other above his heart. "I'm sorry, Kent, but I cant heal both you and your mother." It wasn't that he had a choice only that he wouldn't be able to get to Martha Kent for long enough to heal her. He let loose his power and allowed it to flood from his core into the ill human before him. He frowned at the enthusiasm of the healing, for the first time the body in front of him was drawing the power into him like a magnet instead of just accepting it. The room glowed with white light as the colour began to return to Clark's cheek.
Josh knew it was working when first he began to become very tired and then he felt ill. He knew that he'd feel a lesser form of the symptoms that Clark had felt whilst he was coconscious but at least with him that was all it would be, just the symptoms.
He never saw whether Clark woke up before he felt his body give out below him and he sagged sideways as he head gave him a shooting pain and he flopped sideward onto the ground. He felt Ryan catch his head and lower him to the ground and felt his younger brother's arms around him as he slipped into unconsciousness.
XOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter
