Chapter 10: Rise

"Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself." – Walter Anderson

Johnny didn't know how long he had been watching her but he did. His father had been there with him majority of the night, but some time in the early morning a natural catastrophe befell the U.S. West Coast and Jonathan urged his father to help.

So he did, albeit reluctantly, but he was reassured knowing that his son wouldn't leave her side.

It was more than fine. Johnny stayed behind with his mom, not wanting to leave her again. He watched her breathing rise and fall, and every once in a while, she'd squeeze his hand and he'd smile at the unconscious gesture.

"Clark," she whispers in her sleep, her head quivers left and right. "Johnny," she muttered.

Johnny's heart raced as he listened to his mom say their names. She was having a bad dream again; he could tell by the way she was shaking. He leaned forward onto the bed, resting his hand above his mother's forehead. "Shhh… its gonna be okay now, mom, you're safe," he says in a low calm voice.

A tear drop fell at the corner of his eye. "I love you," he declared openly even in her sleeping form. He buried his head on her stomach. "I missed you so much." He felt a hand sweep across his hair, and for a moment he froze before looking up.

Staring at him were familiar eyes he hasn't seen in over ten years, eyes that bore his own. Eyes that was open, glistening with tears that didn't fall.

"Jonathan?" She spoke out softly in uncertainty. Her hand outlined his face as if she was trying to discover his true identity.

He held the urge to cry further and answered her.

"Mom"

Her body shook as she took in the revelation, and as one hand held one cheek, the other soon followed and before he knew it, he was held in her embrace.

"Johnny!" she says out loud, her grip tightening around him.

"It's okay, mom. You're safe, we're never letting you go," he whispers to her as he gladly did the same.

Moments after their emotional reunion, Johnny continued to remain by her side. She hasn't said a word since she realized that he was her son. His dad once told him that she hated uncomfortable silences, but in a situation such as this, there were exceptions.

She held both his hands with her own for a while before finally speaking. "Where's your father?"

Johnny slightly jumped at the sound of her voice. She's really real.

"There was an earthquake in California, Mr. Wayne told me he was doing some 'damage control'" he explained without question.

"Mr. Wayne?" His mother repeated before her eyes went wide, recalling the name. "Bruce is here?"

He nodded. "He's in the control room," he says. "I didn't want to leave you," he adds in a childlike voice, memories of the time he spent with her as a child flooding the forefront of his mind.

"You are so handsome," she proclaimed, her eyes filled with pride. She let a hand brush down the side of his face. "I almost lost hope that I'd never see you again"

Johnny looked away, ashamed.

"What's wrong?" She asks in a motherly tone. He missed that sound.

"We thought you were dead," he weakly answered. "There was… an explosion… and you were in it…" he begins to sob again. "I'm sorry mom"

"What? No…" she pulled him in onto the bed and held him close, cradling him as she did when he was a child in her arms. "None of this was your fault, okay," she assured in a soft voice near his ear. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere"

She suddenly felt like they weren't alone. As her son's soft cries subsided, she looked up and saw an old friend.

"Hello Bruce"

"Lois," he replied, thrilled to see her and that she remembered. There were concerns that her memories were toyed with after so many years, so he was greatly relieved. "You look terrible"

Lois chuckled at the attempt on light humor. "Thanks." She looked down on her grown son, he didn't seem to want to let her go anytime soon, which was fine by her. She didn't want to let go of him either.

So much time between them lost.

"How long will my… husband… be gone?" she was unsure whether or not Clark had remarried. Judging by how grown up her son has become, she imagines that it's been at least ten, eleven, maybe even more years has passed.

Johnny finally took the initiative to let go of her for a while, he didn't want to crowd her even though he knew she didn't mind. Besides, he heard the hesitancy in her voice when she asked about dad and he wanted to alleviate her worries.

"Don't worry, mom. Dad never remarried"

Lois sighed in relief and reacted towards her heart, removing the gold diamond wedding band she wore around her neck, it was only the few things she had on her that still connected her to her past life.

"Johnny, do you mind if I could speak with your mother alone for a bit?"

Johnny's immediate thought was 'not now' but then he realized Bruce and his dad were trying to get to the bottom of his mom's disappearance.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere," his mother assured. Johnny stood up for the first time all night and slowly stepped away, but not before giving his mom a kiss on the forehead.

"If you need anything, just scream," he insisted.

She laughed at her son's protectiveness. "I'll do that," she winked at him. He smiles broadly; he already knew he was going to love having her back in his life again.

Once he was out of earshot, Lois turned to Bruce with serious eyes. "How long have I been gone?"

"We could talk about that later"

"How long?" she pursued.

He sighed at her stubbornness. "Twelve years," he answered finally.

She put a hand on her forehead as if to stop an impending headache. "Twelve years," she repeated his words. It shocked her yet it didn't.

"Didn't you know?"

"They didn't exactly have a 365 day calendar where I was at," she quipped honestly.

"Where exactly were you?" he asked her in curiosity. He has gone back and forth with the detailed reports Clark had returned with from Area 51. So far, he too has found no more information than Dr. Wells.

"Not now"

Bruce understood her need for space and let it go for now. He decided to choose another topic of discussion.

"Clark knows you're awake, he'll be back any minute now"

Lois eyed him worriedly. "How is he?"

"He missed you," he replies truthfully. "He's had a hard time letting you go. To be honest, I think he was the only one in the entire world that knew you were alive somewhere"

She smiled at the thought, that's her man. Then, she frowned further. "You all really thought I was dead"

"No traces. Twelve years. The evidence was there," he explained in a matter-of-fact manner. He saw her shiver, and noted her tired expression. "Why don't you get some more sleep, Clark will be back soon and you two could talk"

She forced her eyes open. "I've been asleep long enough, Bruce"

"Yeah, well, that's because the men in white coats had you under heavy medication. We're going to make sure you get back on your feet naturally without any drugs in your system, okay"

"Bruce"

"Sleep, for your husband and son's sake," he insisted.

"You always use them against me," she smiled, her eyelids falling heavily closed.

Bruce smiled relieved that she was resting again. They've got plenty of time now to figure things out. Just then, Johnny walked back in.

"Is mom all right?" It was god saying 'mom' again.

"Yeah, she's just tired"

"Did she say anything about what happened to her?"

"Not really, but I'm going to leave that up to your dad. He knows her better than anyone"

"Can I stay with her again?"

Bruce smiled. If he had discovered that his parents were alive after so many years of thinking otherwise, he would have done the same. "You know you can"

To be continued…