Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville or any of these characters.
Author's Note: Farewell, Little Clark (just temporarily). I need a break.
It was finally Christmas morning.
Clark didn't know. He hadn't grasped the concept of days and dates yet, so he didn't know that Christmas was on December 25th.
Astoundingly, Clark had slept through the night from Christmas Eve to Christmas morning, not crying or wondering into his parents' bedroom once. Maamaa had read him his bedtime story—once again The Night Before Christmas—and tucked him in. The next thing he knew, Maamaa and Daadaa were rustling him awake.
"Clark! Clark, wake up! It's Christmas!" Daadaa was saying.
"Presents, honey!" Maamaa beamed. "Clark, there are presents for you under the tree downstairs!"
"Peasants!" Clark exclaimed excitedly, waking up at once. He jolted upright out of bed, and Martha scooped him up in her arms.
"Easy there, little guy!" Jonathan laughed as Clark kicked, trying to get out of Maamaa's arms and downstairs to his presents. "Don't hurt Maamaa. Let's take this nice and easy."
Martha had wrapped Clark's presents with red wrapping paper, and Jonathan and Martha had wrapped each other's presents in green paper. Clark was still struggling to read his name, and this seemed like the perfect solution.
Clark tore into the red presents like any three-year-old on Christmas morning. At Martha's urging, Jonathan ran to get the video camera. Clark's first Christmas was something that had to be caught on tape.
"Maamaa!" Clark exclaimed, holding up a set of blocks, which was a present that Martha's father had sent to his new grandson. "Clark like!"
"Good, sweetie! I'm glad you like your blocks!" Martha smiled warmly, hugging her son. Her father had been trying to get close to his grandson, but Jonathan and Martha were leery of exposing their son's abilities to someone whom Jonathan didn't quite get along with. "We can spell words with those!"
"Clark like!" Clark clapped gleefully as he opened up his next present, some books for beginning readers.
"Martha, give him the big one," Jonathan told his wife as he kept the video camera rolling.
"Here, honey. Open this," Martha smiled to her son, handing him a package about as big as a clothing box.
Clark tore into the package happily. "Maamaa! Daadaa!" he yelled excitedly, sounding the happiest that his parents had ever heard him. "SIP! SIP!" Clark was on his feet now, waving his prized toy in the air; it was a ship. A toy spaceship, to be exact: the exact same one that Clark had pointed out to his father in the toy store a week earlier.
Clark was jumping up and down with excitement. "Clark like!" he exclaimed happily. "CLARK LIKE SIP!"
"Settle down, little guy," Jonathan laughed. "We know you're happy!"
"A spaceship! Of course Clark would want a spaceship!" Martha said soothingly, helping her son get the package open. "Is this the special toy Clark picked out at the store?"
"That's the one," Jonathan smiled, stopping the video camera. He put it down on the floor. "Let Clark play with his ship. Open some of the presents I gave you, Martha."
Martha opened her presents from Jonathan. Her husband had given her a book on knitting, a pair of earrings, and a new perfume.
"It smells wonderful, honey. Like fresh flowers!" Martha exclaimed.
"That's not all." Jonathan reached under the tree and produced a thick white envelope. "Merry Christmas, Martha."
Martha smiled. "Thanks, sweetie." Quietly, Martha opened the envelope. It was a reservation sheet for a two-night stay at a hotel in Metropolis.
"Oh, Jonathan," Martha gasped quietly, holding the sheet in her hands like a priceless treasure. "Jonathan, thank you. Thank you so much!"
Jonathan smiled. "I knew you would like it. Three days and two nights in Metropolis to spend on your very own, sweetheart. I'll stay home with Clark."
Jonathan put his arms around Martha and kissed her on the cheek. He hadn't opened any of Martha's presents yet, but to Martha, that didn't matter. This was Christmas for her.
Clark was playing with his toy spaceship, even though he still had a couple of presents yet. He was soaring it through the air and making strange motor noises.
I wonder if he remembers soaring through the air in his little spaceship, Martha thought as her son played happily. Poor little guy. Where is he from? Did his parents deliberately get rid of him? The sad thing was that Martha knew some of her questions would probably never be answered. Still, Martha knew that Clark was happy. He loved his Maamaa and Daadaa, and he loved his new toys.
"Come here, Clark, honey. Hug Mommy," Martha told her son, holding out her arms. Clark ran into her arms at once.
Jonathan went over and hugged his wife and son tightly. "This is what Christmas is all about," he murmured.
Clark just smiled. He hadn't understood what his father had just said, but it didn't matter.
This was one of the warmest embraces—and one of the best days- he'd ever experienced.