A.N: An update because Hex was so great tonight lol!!!! I've already watched it twice, and I loved it. I'll watch it again tomorrow ha ha.. And because Miss Sullivan was so great tonight, this is my gift to her fans.... Let's just say Chloe redeemed herself tonight and now I'm finding her character useful again.... Some of you just might get your wish. evila si eolch.......
The Aftermath: Martha and Jonathan
She stood in the foyer looking intently at one of the pictures on the mantle. It was her son with his two best friends at his graduation. She smiled sadly thinking of the blond girl in the picture. A girl that will never walk through her door again, would leave behind three small children and a husband and was being buried today. Martha smiled at the memory suddenly evading her mind.
~*~
She was standing in the kitchen washing the dishes and preparing supper for her husband and son, when the front door opened. She peeked into the living room and saw her thirteen year old son walk in with a young blond girl about his age.
"And this is the farm", he was telling her.
"Wow, I had no idea", she was smiling.
Martha wiped her hands on a nearby towel and opened her fridge removing a bottle of milk. She reached into a cupboard and pulled out a box of cookies. Arranging them on a plate and pouring two glasses of milk, she placed them on a serving tray. She walked into the living room where Clark was standing awkwardly with the young girl.
"Clark, honey", she smiled, "Maybe your guest would like a snack."
"Thanks mom", he grumbled.
The young girl beamed. "Mrs. Kent, hi."
"Hi", Martha said, "What's your name?"
"I'm sorry", she said grinning, "It's Chloe. Chloe Sullivan. Clark was just showing me around."
"That's nice of him", Martha said looking over at her son. She placed the tray on the dining table and winked at him, then turned back into the kitchen to finish dinner.
Clark and Chloe sat at the table eating milk and cookies and talking, while Martha could over hear them from the kitchen. The girl really did have an infectious laugh.
She heard them stand up and watched Clark bring the tray back to the kitchen.
"Thanks sweetie, I'll wash that", Martha was saying when she turned around and saw everything was already washed and put away, "Clark, you shouldn't be using your super speed when there are people around."
"She's in the living room, mom", Clark said smiling; "We're going to the loft. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, I don't see why not", Martha nodded, "Just remember to be back before dinner. You should invite her…"
Clark nodded. "Okay mom, thanks, bye."
Martha smiled at her son's retreating figure.
~*~
She didn't know how long she'd been crying, but she realized it when she felt arms wrap around her. She laid her head back against her husband's chest and let him rock her.
"What are you thinking about, sweetheart", he asked softly in her ear.
"The first time I met Chloe", Martha said just as softly.
Jonathan smiled remembering that dinner almost twenty years ago.
"She was something", he said.
"I used to think she and Clark would end up together, you know", Martha admitted, "Especially after the dance freshman year. But I'm glad their lives turned out the way they did. Chloe was never happier than when she was with Jimmy."
"No she wasn't", he said.
"I just wish she was here to see her babies grow up, Jonathan", Martha said crying softly, "A mother shouldn't have to leave her children behind."
"Sweetheart, don't do this to yourself", Jonathan said turning her around to face him, "You need to be strong for Clark, for Lois and for Jimmy and those kids."
"I know", she nodded, "Where is Clark?"
"He went to pick up Lois", Jonathan said, "We're already late, Martha, let's go."
Martha took one more look at the graduation picture on the mantle, and then nodded at her husband following him out the door.