CHAPTER 51

Hiram was a terrible patient. He drove all the hospital staff, Jessica, Jonathan and Martha nearly insane over the next few days as his condition continued to improve.

Jessica was still adamant that Jonathan and Martha mustn't ask him any questions about his heart attack. They had to let him make a full recovery and be back at home before they could satisfy their curiosity.

Jonathan found this particularly difficult, but accepted his Mom's judgment and contented himself with giving Hiram detailed reports about what was happening on the farm and answering his many questions regarding what he had done, what needed to be done and how he was proposing to do it.

They had all quickly settled into a routine of hospital visits. Martha paid Hiram a quick visit before she went into work where she immediately rang the farm and gave a report on his condition. She also, visited him every lunch hour and again before she went home. Jessica waited for Martha to call each morning and then went directly to the hospital where she stayed until Martha came at lunch time. She then had her lunch with Molly after which she did any necessary shopping or errand running before going back to spend the rest of the afternoon with Hiram. Jonathan worked on the farm all day and then left the evening chores to Bob and Billy Ray while he went home, showered, changed and then went and spent the evening with Hiram. Sometimes Martha or Jessica would stay with him and sometimes he spent the evening alone with his Dad.

At first the hospital staff had objected to their almost constant attention. However, they soon discovered that, if a member of his family wasn't with him, Hiram's behavior made their lives a living hell. He was just about the worst patient they had ever had to look after and they gratefully relaxed all the visiting rules so that the Jessica, Martha and Jonathan could stay and prevent him from causing havoc.

One evening, after Hiram had been in hospital for about five days, when Jonathan came home from his nightly visit he found Martha waiting for him. Jessica had gone to bed exhausted from keeping Hiram amused and quiet all day, so while Jonathan sat and enjoyed a beer Martha quickly prepared him a meal. Sitting opposite him as he ate Martha noticed how tired Jonathan was looking. He was working far too hard and spending every evening at the hospital being cross-examined by Hiram wasn't helping.

"Honey, why don't you let me take the evening shift at the hospital tomorrow so you can get some sleep, you're looking worn out." Martha suggested as she went and got Jonathan another beer from the refrigerator.

"That's real kind of you, sweetie, but I have the feeling that if I didn't go and give Dad my daily farm report, he would just get up and come home to check for himself!" Jonathan replied pushing his empty plate away and taking a long drink of cold beer.

After removing his plate, Martha cut him a large piece of apple pie, "Do you want cream or ice cream with your pie?" she asked standing at the counter.

"Ice cream, please." Jonathan answered, smiling at the sight of Martha being so competent in the kitchen.

"Did you ask when Hiram is likely to be released?" Martha queried, as she handed Jonathan his pie and sat down again.

Jonathan chuckled, "Yes and I was told that, if they could trust him to follow instructions, he could be released in a couple of days. However, as they couldn't trust him to be good, it will probably be next week sometime."

Martha laughed, "Does Hiram know they said that?"

"No and I'm not going to be the one to tell him!" Jonathan replied grinning.

Changing the subject, Martha said, "Honey, you know our house fund?"

"Yes, what about it?" Jonathan asked as he ate his pie.

"Well, I've spent some of the money from it today. I know we promised not to touch it, but this was important."

"Sweetheart, the money in that account belongs to both of us; you don't need to ask my permission spend it. I'm sure you had a good reason."

"I did, I had a very good reason." Martha said looking relieved.

"So what did you spend the money on?" Jonathan asked looking amused as he scraped the last few remaining pie crumbs off his plate.

"I'll show you." Martha said looking excited. She quickly got up and went into the living room, returning she put a bag from Goodson's electrical store on the table in front of Jonathan.

Looking mystified, Jonathan reached into the bag and pulled out the contents. Seeing what was written on the boxes he looked at Martha.

"Before you say anything, let me explain." Martha said quickly. "I was thinking about how you and Jessica could have some peace of mind when Hiram comes home. Sometimes, you can be working miles from the farm and in an emergency that makes life really difficult. This way, if anything happens, at least you'll be able to communicate with each other."

Jonathan just sat staring at the packages containing what appeared to be two of the new cell phones he'd read about.

"Are you mad at me for spending our money?" Martha asked, not sure whether Jonathan was just surprised or really cross with her.

Clearing his throat Jonathan looked at Martha with tears in his eyes, "If you knew how worried I've been about Dad having another heart attack on the farm and not being able to let anyone know what was happening …" he tailed off unable to continue.

Martha got up and put her arms around Jonathan, "I know, sweetheart, I think we've all be worried about that happening." She said softly, holding him.

"I've been so scared of him dying and not being able to do anything to save him." Jonathan whispered with tears running down his cheeks as he buried his face in Martha's chest.

Martha held him tightly, tears forming in her eyes.

They stayed holding each other close for sometime before Jonathan pulled away. "I've made your T-shirt all wet." He said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Martha smiled gently and then bent down and kissed him. "You didn't seem to be that bothered about my having a wet T-shirt when you were washing your truck the other week and sprayed me with water. In fact, I seem to remember you making several comments about how good I looked in a wet T-shirt!" She said teasingly.

Recalling the incident, Jonathan grinned. "Believe me, honey; I'm eternally grateful that Mother Nature was so generous to you in that area!"

"Jonathan!" Martha spluttered trying to look shocked.

When Jonathan just laughed at her, Martha didn't have the heart to tell him off as it was the first genuine laugh she had heard from him in days. However, when he tried to pull her onto his lap so that he could investigate Mother Nature's bounty, she swatted him away and sat down next to him, saying "What do you think about the cell phones?"

"I think it was an inspired idea. If we give one to Mom and I keep the other we can keep in contact and have peace of mind whenever Dad and I are working on the farm. Does Mom know you've bought them?"

"No, I wanted to show them to you first. I was afraid that you might be mad at me for spending our savings." Martha replied.

"Like I said, sweetheart, that money belongs to both of us. I'm really touched and grateful that you had the idea of buying the cell phones. You've taken a huge weight off my mind; I've been constantly thinking about when Dad collapsed in the barn and worrying about what might have happened if we had been working out on the pasture. Honey, I don't care what they've cost; the fact that you've used our savings to buy them just makes me love you more." Jonathan squeezed Martha's hand and tried to control the tears that were threatening to return.

Hearing him speak for the first time about the burden of worry weighing him down was a relief to Martha. Seeing Jonathan look more exhausted and worried each day had been a major cause of concern to her. Using a big part of their savings had been a gamble and she was relieved that Jonathan agreed with her that the cell phones were a good idea.

Wrapping her arms around him she said, "We can replace the money, but we can't replace Hiram. As far as I'm concerned buying the cell phones isn't a luxury it's a necessity."

Martha held Jonathan close to her, stroking his back and running her fingers through his curls. Jonathan rested against her and felt the tension that had been building since Hiram's heart attack slowly ease. After a long time he looked at her and gently cupping Martha's face with his hands kissed her.

Feeling Jonathan's lips on hers and his hands begin to explore, Martha smiled. They hadn't been intimate since Hiram was taken to hospital. Jonathan had held her close each night but hadn't even attempted to make love to her. Although she had understood why, Martha was glad that her Jonathan was back. She knew that she might have to wait for several days or even until Hiram was out of hospital before they returned to their nightly lovemaking, but just knowing that Jonathan was feeling relaxed enough to explore was enough for her.

When their kiss ended, Martha looked into Jonathan's eyes and knew that buying the cell phones was one of the best decisions she had ever made. Picking up his dirty plate she stood up, "Do you want another beer?" She asked him as she walked over to the sink and started washing the dirty dishes.

"No, I'm going to call Digger in and then lock up. I feel real tired tonight, would you mind if I went up to bed?"

"I think an early night would do us both good, I'm just going to finish tidying up and then I'll come up." Martha answered as Jonathan went outside to call Digger in for the night. As she wiped down the counter top Martha hoped that Jonathan would finally be able to get a good night's sleep. Normally, Jonathan slept like a log, barely even moving until his alarm went off, but recently he had been tossing and turning unable to relax or sleep properly.

Martha deliberately took her time tidying up; she hoped that by the time she went to bed Jonathan would be in a deep and restful sleep. So when she finally poured herself a glass of water and went upstairs she was surprised to find Jonathan, with just a towel wrapped around his hips, standing and staring out of their bedroom window.

Putting her glass of water on her bedside cabinet, Martha said, "I thought you would be fast asleep by now."

"I was thinking." Jonathan replied.

Crossing the room and going to stand next to him, Martha asked, "Thinking about what?"

Jonathan stepped back and pulled Martha in front of him, "Look out of the window, honey. What do you see?"

Trying to ignore the reflections caused by their bedside lamps, Martha peered through the glass. "I see the farm. Am I missing something?"

"No, you're not missing anything. Everything you can see is the land that Dad has worked on for most of his life. He's poured all his energy and his heart and soul into this land and his herd. There isn't a square inch of this farm that he doesn't know by heart and could find blindfolded. He can't die yet. I'm not even half the man or the farmer he is, I have so much to learn about life and farming and the thought that he might leave before I've had a chance to really learn from him is terrifying me."

Martha turned and faced Jonathan, "Jonathan Hiram Kent, you are your father's son! Don't you realize how much you are like him? Yes, you probably do have a lot still to learn about farming and considering our ages we both have a lot to learn about life, but together we will succeed."

"Will we? With Dad in the hospital I've come to realize just how much I rely on his knowledge and experience. Honey, if he died tomorrow I don't know whether I could manage the farm on my own."

Rapidly trying to gather her thoughts, Martha replied firmly, "Hiram isn't going to die tomorrow! Jonathan there is still time to learn from him. Do you remember when we got married and I started learning all about cooking, cleaning, laundry and everything else I'd managed to avoid doing for the first twenty-two years of my life? Well I learned and so can you! Start asking questions, make notes, use this time as an opportunity to learn everything Hiram can teach you. Tell him about your fears and ask him to share his knowledge with you. Think of this time as a wonderful opportunity to learn. Hiram loves talking about farming and if you explain how his illness has made you realize how much you need to learn, I'm sure he'll understand and help you in anyway he can."

"Do you really think so?" Jonathan asked, crossing the room and sitting on their bed.

Martha went and sat next to him. "Yes. Hiram is a born teacher. Remember how he helped me train Buster? At first I thought he would yell at me when I got things wrong or Buster wouldn't learn fast enough. But he was so patient and spent hours explaining why I should train him a certain way and how I could achieve good results. Honey, if you are honest with him, Hiram will be happy to share everything he knows about farming with you. In fact, I think he will be pleased you've asked him. He'll realize just how seriously you take working on a farm and how committed you are to succeeding as a farmer."

Jonathan picked up Martha's water glass and took a long drink as he thought about what she had just said. "Okay, I'll try it. In fact, I might even mention this when I go visit him tomorrow. Maybe, making a teaching plan for me will help keep him occupied and stop him from tormenting the nurses!"

"That's a really good idea and I'm sure the nurses will be grateful!" Martha said laughing.

Jonathan sighed, "Now we just have one piece of unfinished business to resolve."

"We do? What?"

"The small matter of the wet T-shirt contest." Jonathan explained as he poured the rest of the water from Martha's glass down her front.

"Jonathan!" Martha yelped, jumping up as the cold water washed over her.

"Yep, you'd definitely win … no contest!" Jonathan said grinning at her.

Martha glared at him and then, seeing the twinkle in his eyes that had been missing for days, she relented. Stepping out of her wet skirt and pulling her bra off from under her T-shirt she smoothed the wet T-shirt across her front until it clung to every curve. In an imitation of an announcer's voice she said, "And now we have Miss Smallville … she lives on a farm with her degenerate husband and likes romantic moonlit walks and strawberry ice-cream." Then Martha proceeded to mince around the room like a beauty contestant until Jonathan was nearly crying with laughter.

Catching hold of her hand as she strutted past him; Jonathan said, "You win!" as he tried to pull Martha onto his lap.

"What's my prize?" Martha teased; playfully resisting Jonathan's endeavors to pull her to him.

"Me! You win me and my everlasting love and admiration." Jonathan answered still laughing.

"Darn! I was hoping for a Ferrari!" Martha sighed as Jonathan captured her in a big hug.

Later, as Jonathan slept peacefully with his head resting on her, Martha smiled as she gently trailed her fingers through his curls and whispered softly, "Who needs a Ferrari when they have a Jonathan Kent?"

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