2006
Martha Kent stood back as her dutiful Chief of Staff Lois Lane tinkered with the laptop on the desk in their Washington D.C. hotel room. She had been called from Topeka to meet some government officials to help with funding of programs she deeply believed in. Being away from the farm was hard, especially when she was worried about Clark's wellbeing when it came to his fractured relationships with Lana and Lex. His heart had been broken and all she wanted was to aid in its repair. Bringing Lois with her was also a concern. Since Chloe had been aware of Clark's secret for some time, Martha knew she was a shoulder he could lean on, but there was something about the way Clark and Lois communicated that she felt guilty pulling her away from him, too. Setting up the camera she hoped would be a minor solution.
She wanted to stay in touch with him when she might be away and while phone calls were always the obvious option to stay in touch, she had been given a laptop with a web camera built into it. She was new and weary to it, but Clark had obtained one, as well. She hoped seeing her son, and him seeing her in return, would make the distance between them easier.
"I think I've almost got this." Lois said, turning in a circle to unwrap herself from the wires and cables.
"Lois, I can always call an IT person."
"No, no, Mrs. K. I've got this." She said, blowing the bangs of her dirty blonde hair out of her face.
Martha's lips tightened into a grin as she watched the young woman. She held a special space in her heart for Lois. Ever since meeting the whirlwind girl, she had been reminded about when she was her age. Her late husband had even said as much once when Lois had been working for his campaign. Lois was driven and tenacious, yet had a vulnerable side she never wanted any to see. She had given her glimpses, but it was the relationship with her son that she suspected was the reason. They had different personalities, but they were much more similar than they realized. They brought out different parts of themselves when around each other that was refreshing to see.
As the laptop started up, Lois was in the desk chair tapping her nails against the wooden desktop as she looked at the clock. She tapped and clicked different icons and tried to make note of the steps.
"Come on. Come on." She muttered to herself.
A variety of windows popped up on the screen and Martha saw a little light turn on and Lois' image on the computer.
"Ha! Success!" Lois exclaimed. "But, of course Smallville is late. What else is new?"
Just as she said that a ringing notification sounded and a black box appeared on the screen.
"About time, Smallville."
"I'm only a minute late, Lois." Her son's voice answered.
"Your screen is blank. I can't see you."
"You can't?"
"Unless your invisibility cloak is on and your background is a big black square, no I cannot."
Martha could hear Clark fiddling around and Lois covered her mouth as a chuckle escaped.
"Come on, Clark. I've seen you change the clock on the VCR. So, I believe you can figure a camera out."
There were more sounds of shuffling over the speaker. Lois then stood and started to adjust the screen of the laptop where the camera was. Unbeknownst to her, the lens was aimed straight down her shirt. Martha was about to inform Lois when her son's image appeared on screen, his blue-green eyes large and cheeks clearly turning red.
Clark cleared his throat, which got Lois' attention and she sat back down.
"There you are! See, I knew you could do it," she clapped. She then leaned into the camera closer. "You okay, Smallville? You look beet red and kinda sweaty."
"Just some work on the farm, Lois."
"Look, I know the past few months haven't been easy, and with Chloe working more at the Planet and me away with your mom, I'm hoping you aren't conversing with the cows in the pasture or anything."
Clark rolled his eyes, but there was a slight grin on his lips. "No, Lois. I'm not."
A little laugh escaped Lois' lips and then she was laughing more heavily. Clark's brow narrowed.
"What?"
"I'm-I'm sorry. I just had an image of you pouring your heart out to Bessy the cow."
There was a faint snort on Clark's part as he shook his head. Lois' head flew back and Clark let loose a little more. Martha was glad to see it and glad that Lois brought it out of him. With all the teasing they did to each other, there was always a little spark of something. What it was Martha didn't know. She was beyond positive that Clark didn't either. Her son seemed to have tunnel vision when it came to attraction and love. His life had been consumed and fixated on one girl during his whole adolescence, she wondered as he matured if he would grow out of his teenage fantasy and into the reality that could very well be sitting in front of him. Time would tell if he would let down the barriers and welcome some else in to mend his heart.
Her laughter infectious, Clark let out a few chuckles before saying, "I'm not at that point."
"I'm just saying that now that we have this thing up and running, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. Or, you know, your mom is here. I don't want Shelby to get the brunt of your wallowing."
Just as she said the name there was the scratching of nails across the wood floor and a jump of the golden retriever in Clark's lap.
"Woof!"
"Whoa, there, boy!" Clark looked at the dog then back at the screen. "I think someone misses you."
She cocked her head to the side. "Well, I guess I should be flattered that that's his reaction to the sound of my voice and not the alternative."
"Yeah, the alternative is usually my response." He smirked.
Martha shook her head. 'Oh, Clark,' she reprimanded in her mind. However, this was their way.
"That was a good one, Smallville. But, you know you'd miss this voice if it was gone."
"I'm sure that I would." He mocked, as he petted the dog's head.
She shook her head. "As Cinderella once sang, 'don't know what you got till it's gone."
His face contorted in thought. "I don't remember that song from the movie."
"Not the cartoon princess! The 80s band, Smallville! Geez." She then took a beat and added, "Oh my-are you listening to Disney soundtracks when I'm not around? Did I teach you nothing about quality music?"
The sound of Clark's laughter was music to her ears. His eyes even had a certain life to them she hadn't seen in some time when he replied, "I think I'm good."
Lois laughed at him. "If I cared more, there would be a CD of good music coming your way. But, because I don't, that means I get to put my time to better use." Lois turned around, seemingly forgetting Martha had been standing there the entire time. "Oh, Mrs. Kent, the computer is all yours."
"Thank you, Lois."
The young woman vacated the seat with one last glance at the camera. It was subtle, but Martha caught it. She sat down and smiled at her son.
"Hello, sweetheart." She began.
Later on that night when packing her bag, Martha mistakenly knocked over Lois' bag. A CD case tumbled out and she quickly tucked it back into the pocket along with the other items that had fallen out. She didn't want to assume, so she decided to forget what she saw.
That CD hadn't made it to the Kent Farm and she wouldn't see another case similar to that until February the next year.
2009
Martha paced in her apartment. She had been briefed on the destruction in Metropolis. A monster attacking and wrecking havoc, then an explosion at the Geo-thermal plant. She had tried to get in touch with Clark to no avail. She had managed to reach Chloe, who informed her that Jimmy had been killed and Lois was missing. Martha felt she had been punched in the gut. She had made connections since moving to Washington. She was going down avenues she wouldn't think to venture, but she did it in protection of her family. So, she put her own intelligence out searching for clues and answers.
A bell notification from her computer brought her out of her daze. She quickly saw that it was Clark that was calling her.
"Clark!" She exclaimed when they were finally connected.
"Hi, Mom." He said as he sat in the den of the house in dark clothes. The background was dim. The house that was always filled with warmth and light was seemingly without life.
"Clark, I heard about what happened. Are you-" she stopped and rephrased, "How are you?"
There was silence on the other end, but she got all she needed to know from his face.
"Clark, I'm coming home."
"Don't."
One word and her stomach and heart plummeted.
"Clark, you don't have to do this alone. I have people searching." She said, knowing that what was eating at him was not only losing his friend, Jimmy, but at the mystery of where Lois was. There had been no sign of her in the destruction. It was as if Lois had disappeared into thin air. She was currently looking into and investigating Tess Mercer. She had first been doing it to protect Clark, but now felt the urgency for Lois' sake.
He was despondent. "I already searched. There's no sign of her."
The sadness in his eyes was different from any other point in time except for the death of his father. Clark had grown even closer to Lois in the past year, her absence echoing anywhere Clark was that she wasn't, she supposed. Martha understood that all too well.
"I'm coming home." She stated again.
"What home?" He muttered.
"Clark, I don't like the sound of that."
"I'm not the hero I thought I was. Jimmy's dead. Lois-" he barely managed to complete the sentence. "Lois is gone. I can't….I can't stay here. I need to be able to protect people, protect the city, and I'm not good enough. I'm not the hero they deserve."
"Clark…"
"I'm leaving. I'm going to train with Jor-El. I wanted to thank you for everything and say goodbye." His voice was firm and she knew this time he meant it.
The screen went blank and she couldn't believe this was how her son had decided to leave her. A tear fell down her cheek and then another. A sudden knock on her door jolted her and she quickly wiped her face. She went over to the door and saw her son standing on the doorstep forlorn.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be the hero you and Dad thought I could be. I'm sorry."
"Oh, Clark."
She embraced him into a hug and she felt his upper body strength as he tightened his grip on her. She knew he wanted to let all of his emotions out, but he was holding back. He was stiff in his hug, but hugging her back all the same.
"It hurts," he said. "So, I have to go. I have to leave this all behind."
"I love you. Always remember that," she stressed.
He nodded into her shoulder and then a gust of wind blew through her hair. All she was left with was the phantom feeling of the weight of his embrace. What made it so heavy was the weight on his shoulders and the regret in his shattered heart. Clark had a lot of loss in his life and he had almost gone over the edge when he lost his father. She knew what the catalyst of this was, she had been listening to him all year, and it broke her heart that this was how Clark truly realized it, too. She closed her eyes and prayed that something, or someone, would find Clark and lead him out of the dark.
2013
Martha prepped the food on the counter. She was happy to be once again in the familiarity and serenity of the Kent Farm kitchen. As her time as a U.S. Senator would be winding down, she wanted to get back to the basics. She decided a trip back home would be just the thing. Looking up from her station she spotted her son walking in from doing farmwork outside.
"Why don't you take a break, sweetie? You've been out there for quite some time."
"I feel like if I stop working all I'll do is think." He remarked.
She watched as he sighed and placed his hands on the counter. Clark was having a rough few days. Just like when he had been a teen, solar flares were affecting the atmosphere, which was disrupting his abilities. To make matters harder for him, his wife, her daughter-in-law, was off on assignment in London. There was no possibility of a quick trip to see her and the limitation was eating at him.
"Clark, I know you miss Lois. But just think about the other times you've had to be away and couldn't see her. Or rather she couldn't speed and see you," she advised.
"I know," he said, playing with a tomato on the counter.
She had witnessed her son going through various moods over the years, sadly wandering the farm and brooding in the loft. This was different. This was a man before her who missed seeing his significant other, his partner, his wife.
She was sympathetic to the pout on his face, but also amused. Almost a decade earlier when Lois had entered his life he had made pronounced statements about how her presence seemed to get under his skin. Living at the farm had presented new hurdles, yet it seemed to fit. While Lois had a strong and direct personality, her heart was just as strong and direct for the family that had taken her in. Her loyalty to the Kent's was something Martha always remembered. While the two would squabble, or unconsciously flirt, they would also do anything to protect each other. It almost seemed they had been an old married couple from the day they met.
"I'm worried about Lois staying here." Jonathan had remarked as they made up Clark's room.
"I'm sure it won't be for long. And Clark knows to be careful with his powers."
"I'm not worried about the powers."
That caught her by surprise. "What are you worried about?"
"The two of them being under the same roof. I was watching them from the barn earlier. They were having an argument."
She waved off the ill feelings they projected.
"Oh, Jonathan. I think they'll get along eventually."
"That's what I'm talking about, sweetheart."
Martha raised an eyebrow.
He continued, "We already had one incident or misunderstanding with the shower. How long before the fire in these arguments grows into something we can't contain?"
"Clark and Lois?" she asked, stunned at first at the thought.
He nodded.
"Neither seems to be too interested in the other."
"But that's how it starts." He said pointedly. "I remember when I was in school liking a girl and I would kick her chair all the time until she turned around and sneered at me."
Martha's lips turned into a smirk. "You used to kick my chair."
"You were so focused I had to get you to notice me somehow."
"Well, I was paying attention. I had to take the notes."
"But you asked me for my notes." He countered.
"So, I guess I did notice you." She smiled.
"I'm just saying that I'm happy to help and have Lois stay here, but for as much as those two bicker we should probably keep a watchful eye. Just in case."
"Of course. Just in case."
The "just in case" may have taken longer than first thought, but it had happened. Jonathan had called it. Now, their son who had been keen to get rid of Lois was currently in the kitchen eclipsed in the void she left behind.
"Clark, why don't you call her?"
"She called me when she was on the plane. With the time difference, I don't want to disturb her. Besides, hearing her voice is one thing, but seeing her is something else. I know that from the Blur years."
Martha nodded. He had told her years before how when Lois returned from missing for three weeks he had tried just calling her to fill the void. It had helped, but he had needed to see her. That was part of the reason Clark Kent had returned. She was forever grateful.
"I'm sure that she is missing you just as much. And I may be getting up there in years, but I know video calls are possible. Why don't you try to set one up?"
A sparkle returned to his eye. She commended her son for trying to remain strong while missing his wife, but at this point he shouldn't be afraid of whatever desperation he thought contacting her would be giving off. The two of them had been through enough in their relationship. The need and want to be with each other was more than understandable. She glanced down at the wedding band that was still on her finger. There was certainly nothing wrong with wanting to see the person you love.
Clark pulled his phone out of his back pocket and scrolled through until finally hitting a button. She could hear the ringing through the speaker as she started to chop vegetables once again.
"About time you called, Smallville. And a video call is all the better, because. .."
"Lois!" Clark yelped and Martha's head snapped up. He started to nervously laugh, his eyes darting from the phone to her and back. "Lois, you remember how I said my mom was at the farm."
"Oh crap," then was shuffling and dropping the phone before, "Hi, Mrs.-erm-Mom," she corrected. Lois was still adjusting between using the new title.
"Hi, Lois!" She called out jovially.
She didn't need to know about what happened between Clark and Lois behind closed doors, however she knew their relationship had catapulted her son to a whole new level. He was more confident, bolder, and self-assured. Lois inspired him, Clark remarking that when he told her he loved her he felt as if he had been walking on air. And she didn't doubt in his case that he had been. She also knew that Clark made Lois stronger, but also more understanding of the world around her. They balanced each other out in the best way, which is why being apart was hard for them.
Clark was laughing at how Lois must look on the screen and she heard Lois ask with her own chuckling, "Why are you laughing?"
The smile on Clark's face said it all. There were practically hearts in his eyes.
"I'm just happy to see you."
"You certainly saw me." She mumbled, but it was loud enough to come across the room. She then cleared her throat and said, "but I'm happy to see you, too. Emil said it should only be a couple more days and then before you know it all will be right with the world and you'll be zooming away."
"Doesn't mean I haven't been reading up on it myself." Clark revealed.
Lois snorted, "Yeah, me too."
His eyebrows raised. "Really?"
"Yeah, well, what if I find something that he missed, you know?"
He teased, "The brilliant doctor slash scientist?"
"Hey! You said you were researching, too, buddy!"
He nodded, "True."
Humor was laced Lois' voice as she said, "I think we're just overthinking it, shockingly. Cause that's what we do."
Clark smiled as his hand went through his hair, his eyes bigger as he mouthed 'That's right.'. Then, he laughed.
Martha had pieced together long ago that Clark's laughter often was connected to Lois. He had been comfortable to joke and laugh with her, or sometimes at her, before she knew his secret. That dynamic had not changed even after the discovery. If anything, he laughed more.
"So, we just need to wait out these stupid flares."
"Unfortunately."
"I hate waiting, but the end result will be good."
Clark smirked, "Always is."
Martha sighed and tried to stop eavesdropping on the conversation. She knew Clark and Lois had their hurdles, especially in the past year with the isotope Lex had used on Superman to track him. The couple couldn't be together for sometime, but found a way to make it work. That was what she admired about them. The fight and the drive to push through the impossible. She and Jonathan had that.
Martha had been privy to the similar incident between Clark and Lana and at that time he wasn't researching or having video calls. He had let it go. They both had. They didn't fight for it, which was the most telling sign that they knew they weren't the one for each other. As a mother, she tried to coach her son to take blinders off and listen as he grew up, but she had let him make his own mistakes. With Lois it was a contrast. She saw her son when he thought he lost her four years prior. Before he even understood what he truly felt. There had been other times where he shut the world out or attempted to train with Jor-El, however this time he had gone through with it. She believed that her son, Clark Kent, wouldn't return. Until three weeks after his goodbye she got a call from Lois Lane asking about his whereabouts. The light sparked of hope, that she would lead Clark back out of the dark and she had. Her son returned. Lois Lane always seemed to find and return her son to her.
"The minute I'm done with this interview I'm heading home. Want anything while I'm here?"
"Just you." He cooed.
"Aw, you're as sweet as the Toblerone I had earlier."
That caught her attention and her motherly instincts took over as she called out, "Don't be skipping meals, Lois!"
Clark chuckled, "My mom said not to be skipping meals."
"I'm not! They gave me Beef Wellington and I had a spot of tea ."
His eyebrows shot up. "Spot of tea? Only the finest for Miss Lane."
"Yes. Stop looking at me like that." She then said, "I'm bringing some back for Mom."
"She'll like that. The both of you can have a spot of tea when you get back." His head moved mockingly as he mentioned the tea.
"Yes, I will and you're not invited."
"Ouch. I think I'll live missing your tea party."
"Oh, Smallville…" Lois then began to laugh. "I so hope one day in the future you won't be able to back out of a tea party."
Perplexed, he questioned, "What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying that in the future when we have kids, they might want to have tea parties with you and I'm just going to stand there looking upon the scene with vindication. And my camera."
The both of them started to laugh, probably thinking about what Clark would look like with a child's tea set. Martha couldn't help but chuckle to herself. When she stopped she watched her son and daughter-in-law still teasing each other and sighed at the thought that they were thinking aloud about the future, thinking aloud about kids, thinking aloud about all the things she recalled her son discounting as ever being a reality for him because of his differences. All her son had ever wanted was to be normal and with Lois he always had been. She was happy he figured it out.
Martha continued to chop vegetables and returned to her recipe while her kids cooked up ideas for the future.
2018
Martha sat outside on the porch of the farmhouse in her rocking chair. A glass of lemonade sat on the side table. She breathed in the clean air and looked out across the land. It was the tranquility she had hoped to achieve.
Her blissfulness was cut off by the sound coming from the tablet Clark and Lois had bought for her. She was attempting to read a book off of it, but was missing the feeling of actually turning the pages. She maneuvered the tablet as it rang and pressed the button on the screen to answer the call coming in.
An image of her granddaughter popped up on the screen. She waved, "Hi Grandma!"
Martha smiled and waved back, "Hello, Callie! How are you?"
"I'm having fun! We're at the beach!"
The screen on her granddaughter's end moved and she saw Clark and Lois in the distance behind her, then the sand, other patrons of the beach, and the crashing of the waves. It looked just as idyllic as her farm setting. As the camera turned back she again saw Clark and Lois in the thought Lois looked very stylish in her red bathing suit and big sunglasses. Clark too was donning sunglasses and they started to slip down his face as he gave his wife a peck on her cheek. It was a quick, but beautiful display of affection. Their carefree nature was to be expected, after all.
Just a few days prior she, Clark, Lois, Callie and Jimmy Olsen, the young photographer who bore the name of his older brother, were present at a small ceremony at a little chapel right outside Metropolis. While Clark and Lois had been married legally for years, they had never been able to complete a ceremony. With Callie present as a flower girl, the couple finally was able to exchange rings and reach the culmination of the ritual. While they could have gone off on a honeymoon by themselves, they opted to make it a family vacation with Callie in tow on Martha's Vineyard. When Callie first heard she asked her grandmother if the island was hers, which Martha had to explain the name was just a coincidence. However, the four year old still had it stuck in her head that her grandmother somehow was connected to the island through its name. She was just happy they seemed to be enjoying themselves, finally being able to relax.
"I miss you, Grandma!"
"Oh, I miss you, too. I want you to have lots of fun, but be very safe!"
Her granddaughter nodded, her dark locks flying in the air. "I will! I will! There are no sharks, I looked." Just like any child her age, her attention then diverted and she said, "I'm going to bring you presents!"
"Oh, I can't wait to see what they are!"
She bounced, "It's a surprise!"
Martha chuckled at the excitement of the little girl. Martha craned her neck trying to see what the young was doing below the camera lens.
"Callie, what are you making there?"
"I made a pie! Like you do!" She said holding up a beach toy full of sand.
"Very nice!" Martha complimented.
"Grandma! What kind of witch do you find at the beach?"
"I don't know. What kind?"
"A SAND -witch!" The little girl exclaimed in delight. She smiled brightly, her blue eyes sparkling in the sun, and then giggled.
Martha found herself chuckling at the corny joke.
"Daddy told me that!"
Martha chuckled again. That would be her son's sense of humor, much like his father.
"Callie Kent, did you take Daddy's phone?" Lois' voice asked and then she appeared right behind Callie.
"Yes, I did." She responded with an affirmative nod.
Clark's voice now entered the conversation. "And did you call Grandma with my phone?"
"Yes, I did." Callie repeated.
"Hi, Mom." Clark said with a wave. Lois was smiling and waving beside him.
"Hi, kids. I hope you're having a good time."
"We are. I almost wish we could stay longer." Lois answered with a sigh.
"Well, you both definitely deserve it."
"Callie, you have to ask before using the phone." Clark lightly reprimanded.
"I tried to ask Mommy but she was really busy putting lotion on your back! You kept saying she missed a spot. Mommy, do you need glasses?"
The couple started to turn red, and it certainly wasn't from being in the sun that afternoon. Martha put her free hand over her mouth. From the mouths of babes…
"Funny how our four year old has a better handle on the smartphone than you, Smallville." Lois tittered, trying to segue away from her daughter's unfiltered comment.
"She grew up using it. I didn't. Plus, this is a new phone." He defended.
"The fact that it's new isn't helping your defense. Besides, all those emojis are not new discoveries."
"This coming from the woman who constantly declares she has the internet on her phone." He countered.
Lois crossed her arms. "I do."
"We all do." He stressed with a playful look on his face.
Lois poked a finger into his chest. "You didn't even know how to take a screenshot on this new device until I used the internet on my phone to tell you how."
"That's true. You do guide me when I'm technologically lost."
"And I don't mind all those hearts that appear on my screen…" she trailed.
Clark just smiled at her. Lois' crossed arms fell to her side and her demeanor matched his. They were leaning in to each other, apparently to share a kiss when Callie's voice broke into their haze.
"There they go again." Callie remarked with an eye roll.
How perceptive the four year old was. She certainly had her mother's eye roll down. One day she would reveal that the banter between the couple had been the foundation of their relationship from the beginning.
"Oh yeah?" Clark asked, crouching down into the sand. He whisked his daughter into his arms and started to tickle her. "Here I go again."
Callie's squeals of laughter echoed through the speaker as she squirmed. There was nothing a child joyously laughing to get the serotonin pumping. Martha was filled with such euphoria it was hard to explain.
Lois was about to open her mouth when Clark cut her off with a wink behind his glasses, "I know that's a Whitesnake song."
Lois smiled again and then crouched down to save her daughter. Callie caught her breath, the giggles beginning to fade.
"Let's go, munchkin!"
Clark's head bent closer to his daughter, their foreheads touching. "Is she talking to you or me?"
Callie shrugged. "I don't know. She has a lot of nicknames for us."
"Yeah, we just answer to anything." He said which prompted a giggle from the both of them, like it was their little secret.
Clark ruffled his daughter's wet head while Lois was the one giving her signature eye roll.
"Then I think that's the cue for both of us." He turned to the screen and said, "We're gonna go, Mom."
"Well it was lovely hearing from you. Enjoy the rest of the trip."
"We will, Mom. Next stop on this tour is the bridge where they filmed Jaws."
"I'm preparing for the nightmares now." Clark said, glancing quickly at Callie.
"I packed your Elmer Fudd nightlight. You're good, Smallville." She said, patting him on the arm.
Clark took the jab and just classically shook his head.
"We'll see you soon." Lois said into the camera.
"Bye, Grandma!" Callie exclaimed and put her small hand to her mouth then gestured a kiss. "Mwah!"
Martha reacted as if she caught the kiss and then sent back her own. They all waved and the call ended. Martha put the tablet down on her lap and grabbed her lemonade. She looked out into the distance of the farmland. While her family relaxed and enjoyed their time on the island that shared her name, Martha found humor in the coincidence as she returned to her island in the stalks of Smallville.
2024
It was a beautiful fall afternoon as Martha sat on the park bench with Lois as they waited for Callie's soccer game to start. She was proud that her granddaughter was doing well in the sport, the extra guidance from her parents leading the way. She remembered the years she and Jonathan had feared Clark playing a sport, especially football. He had proved them wrong his senior year. It was in the reflection of those years that Callie's wish to play soccer was granted. Callie knew how to manage her powers well and was more aware than Clark had ever been at the same age. The knowledge and understanding Clark and Lois brought was immensely more than she and Jonathan had at the time. Through that the upbringing of her grandchildren had been a new experience. They were better prepared for the changes that would occur and it was a relief in many ways.
"Clark said he was going to try and call in to watch the game. Bruce apparently upgraded the system technology and Clark is being an old man about it."
"Hey, learning new technology isn't always easy." Martha said in defense of her son.
"True, but you would think with understanding Kryptonian technology, which is supposed to be more advanced than this, he'd be able to figure it out."
"I guess you are right about that."
Clark was currently at Watchtower training new hero recruits. It seemed they were running late on schedule. He had always made sure to be present for his children. He had been distraught thinking he would miss the game when Lois reminded him that he could patch through and watch on video until he could make a break for it and zoom back down.
Lois waited, looking at her phone when a doorbell chime sounded and the name "Tony's Pizza" flashed on the screen.
"Oh, I think that's him!" She said excitedly.
Martha saw her son's face. He had his civilian clothes on and donned his glasses on his face. She figured he wanted to look the part in case someone spied and took a peak on Lois' phone.
"The glare is terrible. I'm just going to get up and walk to the shade." Lois said as she put her hand above her eyes, trying to block out the sun.
"You do what you need to do. I'll watch the kids."
"Thanks, Mom."
Martha gave her daughter-in-law a pat on her arm as she started to walk a couple of feet away, but still within listening distance. She could even still make out Clark on the screen.
"So, can you hear me?" Lois asked.
"Yes, yes." Clark said, putting a thumbs up.
"Okay, great. I think you got this, Smallville." Lois said, encouragingly.
Clark seemed to let out a laugh and shook his head slightly. "Yeah." Then motioned he couldn't hear her.
"Oh." Lois said then laughed.
Clark then mouthed words and Lois snorted, "I can't hear you, now!"
"Perfect." Clark's voice broke through as he laughed again.
"Oh, now I can!" Lois walked in a circle. "This is going well. Just like you were here, Smallville. Very realistic."
Martha could hear her son cracking up.
"I think you need one of those young Justice Leaguers to give you a tutorial on this." Lois suggested.
"I did!" He cried in annoyance.
Lois let her head fall back and belted out a laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" He said, trying to muffle his own chuckles.
"Because we always seem to win at technology!"
"Hey, they did teach me this."
A dancing heart icon showed up at the bottom of the screen.
"Did you send me a heart in the chat?"
"Yes, I did." He said proudly.
"Here's one back at you, dork husband of mine." She said and typed on her phone.
Martha could feel her hand landing on her chest, above her own heart. Over the years she had watched these two individuals grow and heal with one another. Every interaction, even through video chats, their hearts had been calling to each other. When they finally listened it seemed all they had been searching for had fallen into place. Happiness, normalcy, and completion.
Calls like the one they were on currently were merely a bridge to reach each other and a welcomed placeholder until being in person again. Once reunited their hearts could settle and beat together as one.
Clark's voice then caused Martha to return to the conversation being had in front of her.
"It seems it cleared up now, so I'm going to hope the connection holds for the duration of the game until I get there."
"Me, too." Lois looked over to the playground, turning the phone around, and called out, "Kids, say 'hi' to your dad."
"Hi, Daddy!" Callie called out from the monkey bars.
"Hi, Dad." Their son waved from the slide.
Turning the phone back around, she asked, "So, how's the training going, Professor Super Smarty Pants?"
"Well…" Martha could hear her son begin as Lois walked closer to the field.
She stayed by the bench and watched her grandchildren play on the equipment. The scene before her was everything she had hoped for her son. He was successful in his career as a reporter, but also in his role as a protector of the people. He had found a love of a lifetime and from that love it produced two beautiful children. He had everything she hoped he would be able to have.
She turned to her left and standing next to her was the sandy haired blue eyed towering figure of her late husband. He smiled as he too watched his grandchildren play.
Just then her grandson slid down the slide again and came running towards her. He was the spitting image of Clark as a young boy and she was transported back in time for a brief moment.
"Everything okay, Grandma?" His little voice asked.
She looked at the figment of her husband, who nodded to her, and then back to the little boy who carried on his grandfather's name in his. She ran her delicate fingers through his mop of dark hair and caressed his face gently.
The wind blew her hair and she could feel the sunlight envelope her in a warmth reminiscent of her late husband. He was still there and always would be, looking over her, Clark, Lois, and the grandchildren. She took a breath and smiled, her own heart answering the call of his from a distance.
"It's perfect."