Chapter 4

Thomas groaned as he felt two hands on his leg. He looked up to see a blond woman working feverishly and focusing on the cuts he had. He groaned as he felt a sudden sharp pain and the blond woman looked toward a coppery red headed man who grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured half a glass full.

"Best take a drink boy. This is going to get worse before it gets better." Harry said as he touched the glass to Thomas' lips.

Thomas took a long pull from the glass and felt the whiskey burn down his throat. He let out a cough and Harry smirked.

"Good, that means that you're not a big drinker. This stuff should help dull the pain even more then." Harry said as he placed his Pa's bottle of whiskey back on the table and watched as Sarah finished putting the stitches into Thomas' leg.

"Thank you." Thomas croaked out as he lay in a strange bed.

"Don't worry 'bout it. My grandpappy was the town doctor back in the 1890's. I just asked a lot of questions and paid attention to him." Sarah said as she leaned back and wiped the sweat from her forehead, "The one you should really thank is my little brother in law. If Jonathan hadn't of been out there hunting that panther I don't think that we would have ever found you." Sarah said as she got up and stretched her back.

"Where... Where is he?" Thomas asked.

"He's outside tending the horses. You just rest up. Oh, foreand I forget what's your name?" Harry asked.

"I'm Thomas... Thomas Wayne." Thomas answered.

"Glad to meet you Thomas. I figure that you come from Smallville, so don't worry about getting back. When you've rested we'll take you back into town." Harry said.

"Thanks..." Thomas said as he drifted off to sleep.

"You did a right good job sweetheart." Harry said as he hugged Sarah close to him.

"Thank you darling, but I got to get back to work down stairs. Those pots and pans ain't gonna clean themselves." Sarah said as she got up and headed out the door.

Harry took a moment to look at the boy. He looked familiar and the name was familiar, but he couldn't place either of them. After a few minutes he shrugged and headed downstairs with Sarah.

(SmallVille - six hours later)

Phoebe paced the floor for the sixth time. She knew that it was an useless action. In truth if she could get to a horse she would ride out and find Thomas herself, and then she would tan his hide for taking off and not telling her or his father. She saw Bruce as he got off of the phone with the local authorities.

"The sheriff said that he would go looking for Thomas. He asked if our son has made any friends and i told him about the local girl Thomas was speaking to. He's certain that he'll find Thomas before too long." Bruce said as he made his way toward his wife.

Phoebe looked at him her face showing the worry that she felt.

"He knows better than this." She said.

"Yes, but he's a teenager darling. It's something that most teenage boys do." he said.

"Present company excluded, but men are idiots. That includes our son. He should have came and told us." She said her eyes narrowed.

Bruce could see what she was doing. Phoebe was a warrior above all else. After all when he had gotten Separated from his friend Robert Ripley he had found himself lost in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Of course he had used the skills that both he and Robert had learned from various tribes they had visited and was living off of the meager substances that the land provided. That was when she found him. He had believed that she must have been a vision or perhaps an angel come to take him home. Instead she had placed a sword against his neck and spoke in ancient Greek. It was at that moment that he thanked his father for the insistence of a classical education. He answered her in her own tongue and as she instructed he was completely truthful. Of course she had looked skeptically at his surroundings until she realized that what he had said was true. She knelt down in front of him and drew several symbols in ancient Greek.

(Desert 50 miles outside of Cairo - 21 years and 50weeks ago)

"You have passed an ancient test 'Bruce'." Phoebe said in her tongue as she looked up him finishing the etching she had made in the sand.

"What test is that?" He asked in her tongue.

"The test... The one test that we give to our young warriors. It determines if they will survive or if they will perish. I would never have thought that a male could do such a thing." She said as her chocolate colored eyes studied him for a moment.

"I've always been told that I'm not what people think." He replied.

She smiled at him and took a small blatter of water from her side. She untied the strings that held it and offered it to him.

"Thank you." he said.

"There is no need for thanks. By passing this test you have proven that you are a warrior, or at least have the heart of a warrior. Please, tell me of the world you come from." She said as she watched him.

He began telling her of the world outside of the desert. The airplanes, automobiles, shops, chocolate, which he fished out a small piece he was saving for when he escaped or ran out of food. He offered her the piece of chocolate and watched her eyes widen as she bit into it. She took another bite and offered him the other half. He took it and snapped it in half giving her a little more. She grinned and quickly devored the small piece before looking at the sand dunes behind them.

"I can take you back to tombs, but if i do I will not be able to return to my people. I... i cannot take you to them because I refuse to see someone who has no fear bound and treated like an animal." She told him.

"Take me back, and you can come with me, for as long as you want." he said.

She smiled and shook his hand. Little did either know that the budding friendship they had would lead them to marrying in less than a year.

(Smallville Wayne two story house)

Bruce sat down beside Phoebe and began massaging her shoulders. She leaned into him and sighed. She didn't regret Thomas, nor did she regret the daughter, and by the gods she believed it was a daughter, that she carried in her womb, but she regretted not being able to go out and look for her son. She didn't like the feeling of being useless, and it bothered her even more when she felt that she was useless in front of Bruce. Almost as if he was reading her mind he kissed her ear continued to rub her shoulders.

"He will be fine darling. He's a Wayne. The one thing that we always do is land on our feet." He said softly.

(The road from Kent's farm to Smallville - two hours later.)

Thomas looked at Jonathan and Harry Kent as they headed toward town. The old truck they were riding in was cramped, so Jonathan offered to let Thomas sit up front with Harry. It was nice of him, but Thomas wanted to be able to stretch out his leg and said that he would take the back. In the end Jonathan joined him and looked out toward the night sky.

"So where were you heading today anyway?" Jonathan asked.

"I met this girl... Denise, and she told me about a quarry around here that everybody swims at." Thomas answered grinning like he was the family cat that had just caught the canary.

"Ah. Yeah, the Quarry is off in that direction, but I wouldn't be heading out here on a bicycle too often. Besides those big cats there is a few brown bears and coyotes out here. Best to come in a truck, by horse, or wagon." Jonathan said.

"I found that out, thanks." Thomas said as he rubbed his leg, "Well I've got something to tell Mattie when I get back home to Gotham."

"Mattie?" Jonathan asked.

"Martha... Martha Kane. She's a real fireball." Thomas said as he grinned.

"I know what you mean. I've met a Martha a lot like that. She's got a lot of grit." Jonathan said as he thought of Martha Clark.

"Who knows... Maybe later on the four of us can all meet together somewhere and have a little get together." Thomas said as he looked up at the night sky.

"Sounds nice." Jonathan said as they entered Smallville.

"Wonder what the sheriff is doing out here this time of night?" Harry asked as he stopped the truck when Sheriff Klimer walked up toward their truck.

"Evening boys, we're looking for a possible runaway. His name's Thomas Wayne." The Sheriff asked Harry.

"Actually Sheriff that's who we have in the truck bed. He was heading out to the quarry and got jumped by a panther." harry said.

"Oh dear lord, you alright son?" Sheriff Klimer asked as he shined a light on Thomas.

"I'm fine Sheriff, the Kents was nice enough to take me in and help me." Thomas said.

After a few minutes both Bruce and Phoebe Wayne was near the truck. Thomas had seen his mother worried before, but he had never seen her face so worried, then relieved, then royally upset.

"Thomas Mordecai Wayne! Of all of the pigheaded, foolish, male things to do! It would have took two seconds to tell us where you were going!" Phoebe exclaimed as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry mother... I really am. I didn't mean cause a fuss." Thomas said as he looked toward the ground.

"It's alright... You're safe and that is what matters. From what I heard you faced a wild beast?" she asked.

"It was a brown panther, Jonathan," He said as he pointed toward Jonathan Kent, "Killed it while it was trying to get to me." Thomas said.

She turned toward Jonathan and smiled.

"You have my thanks. If there is ever anything that I, my husband or our families can ever do for you, please do not hesitate to ask."

Jonathan smiled and climbed out of the back of the truck.

"Thanks, but I was just doing what anyone would do."

He started to head toward the front and saw Martha standing off at a distance. He walked toward her and watched as she looked up and gave him a kind of releaved smile.

"Hi Jonathan." She said softly.

"How are you doing Miss Clark?" he asked.

"Call me Martha, and I'm doing fine. Just getting... irritated." She said as she looked toward the school

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Richard Reynolds has been spreading rumors about me... Saying that i like for people to see me... you know naked." She said as she blushed.

"I don't know, but I don't think that is how you wanted to be seen the first time we met." He said as he blushed as well.

"Not really... So... Am I still invited to the barn dance this Friday?" She asked.

"Of course... I wouldn't have it any other way." He said as he smiled at her.