Emmeline knocked on the door of the Kent house late at night. Clark was the one to answer it.
"Hey," she smiled. "I heard about what was happening to your dad. I thought you could use a friend." It was then she noticed one of their classmates, Garrett, in the living room. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company."
"Oh, Garrett's just staying with us for right now," Clark answered. He looked towards Garrett. "But if you want to be alone—"
"No," Garrett interrupted. "No, I really don't."
Emmeline slowly stepped inside. Garrett took a seat on the couch and she sat next to him while Clark took the seat across from them.
"It's kind of ironic," their classmate continued. "My brother worked in demolition. He risked his life every day with explosives and we lose him to liver disease."
That must've been why he was staying at the Kents. It was just until he found a more permanent place to stay after he lost his brother. They had done something similar with Ryan. Her heart panged for a moment as she recalled the young boy she and Clark had grown so close to.
She remembered how torn up she had been when he had died. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life and they had only known each other for about a year. Garrett had to be feeling ten times worse than she ever had.
"If he had just gotten that transplant, he'd still be…" Garrett faltered for a moment and looked at Clark sadly. "Your dad's about to have surgery. You don't need to hear this."
"No, Garrett, it helps to talk about it," Clark told him. "You listened to me that time in the hospital. And Em is probably the best listener I know."
"Part of me feels like Vince isn't really gone. That it's all just some big misunderstanding."
"Garrett, if there's anyone that needs to be told, I can help, make some phone calls…"
"No, it was just us." He chuckled mirthlessly. "He used to call me 'runt' as long as I could remember. I always hated it. Now I'd give anything to hear him say it again."
They all looked up as Martha came into the room. "Garrett? I just got a call from the crematorium. They want to know where they should send your brother's ashes."
"Ashes? What are they talking about? He's supposed to be buried next to my mom and dad."
The four of them exchanged a confused glance. Wasting no time, the three teenagers went to the morgue at Garrett's insistence.
"Doctor, why would you have him cremated?" Clark asked the medical examiner in the morgue. "It's not what he asked for."
"We didn't send him," the woman answered. "Metropolis General did. He was helicoptered there for an organ donation." She handed a file over to Garrett.
Garrett angrily took the file and looked through it. "Then it couldn't be the same Vincent Davis."
"It's what the paperwork says. All the documents are signed, including your brother's autograph on that cremation form."
"No."
"Look, maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought you did."
Garrett slammed the file down on the medical table. "What are you talking about?!"
"Garrett, calm down," Clark said.
"How am I supposed to be calm when my brother's been carved up and burnt to a crisp?"
"Look, son, I know this is difficult, but—" the medical examiner started.
"You don't know anything!"
Clark looked at the woman apologetically as Garrett stormed to the other side of the room. "I'm sorry." He walked over his friend. "Garrett, I know this is hard. Maybe Vince just didn't tell you."
"My brother's told me everything since the day my parents died. Those documents have to be forged." He angrily left the morgue in a huff.
Emmeline sighed. "He's just grieving. I can understand why he's so upset."
They all returned back to the Kent farm and went inside the barn.
"I'm sorry I lost it," Garrett apologized, level-headed once again. "I guess I kind of have a short fuse."
"You have every reason to be upset, Garrett," Clark answered.
"He's right," Emmeline added. "You only just lost your brother and you're still grieving. It's perfectly natural for you to feel this way."
"The thing is, it just doesn't make any sense," the boy murmured.
The door to the barn opened and they all turned to find a young man in a dirty white shirt looking rather haggard.
"Vince?"
Emmeline's widened eyes looked at Clark. If the whole night was any indication, Vince should not be up and walking around.
Vince smiled as he came into the barn. "It's me, runt."
Garrett ran up to his brother and hugged him tightly. "Vince?! I can't believe it!"
Clark walked up to the pair of brothers. "Wait, I don't understand. We both saw you. You were pronounced dead."
"I guess they were wrong," Vince told him.
"Well, there's got to be an explanation."
"All I know is when I woke up, I was in a lab and this woman doctor with a needle the size of Kansas was standing over me." The young man looked over at his brother. "Come on, runt. We have to get out of here."
"Wait, we should get you to a doctor."
"No more doctors or labs. Garrett and I have to fall off the radar."
"Why? Who's after you?"
"I don't know, but…"
"Will you tell me where the lab is?"
Vince began blinking furiously and his face contorted with pain. He stumbled around a little bit and had a difficult time getting words out. "Uh…it's, uh, it's somewhere in Metropolis."
"Are you okay?"
"Garrett, let's roll."
"Vince?" Garrett said worriedly. Vince's right eye began to drip blood. "Your eyes. They're bleeding."
More blood dripped from both eyes and he held his stomach as he fell to the ground convulsing. Emmeline and Clark quickly rushed over to him
"Vince?" Garrett panicked. "Vince?! What's happening to him?! Vince! No!" Emmeline watched in horror as he face quickly began to turn a sickly yellow color. "Clark! Emmeline! You have to help him, please!"
All of them rushed Vince to the hospital and met with his doctor, Dr. Yeager, as they assigned him to another hospital room.
"No, I-I don't know how to explain it," the doctor said. "This man was dead yesterday."
"He said he was revived at a lab in Metropolis," Clark explained.
"Well, whatever they did, it was short term. I'm afraid he's not gonna be able to last much longer. His liver is rapidly deteriorating."
"Dr. Yeager," Garrett pleaded. "Just call the lab and tell them to give him more of whatever he got."
"I have no idea what lab you're talking about."
"Don't hold out on me. I'm not gonna stand here while my brother dies again."
"Look, I've never had a patient come back to life before. I'm just as confounded as you are. But I promise you, we're doing everything we can to keep your brother alive."
The doctor went into Vince's room to try and do something for the dying man.
Garrett looked through the window of the room. "I'm not sure coming back here was such a great idea."
"There's no other place to take him, Garrett," Clark said. "At least here they can stabilize him."
"I can't lose him twice, Clark."
Emmeline looked at him sympathetically, not even remotely able to understand what it was like to watch the person you loved most die twice.
Emmeline returned home to grab some food before returning to the hospital. Not only for Garrett's sake, but for Martha's as well. She could only imagine how worried she was about Jonathon's surgery, especially since it wasn't a given.
"Pete?" she called when she got to the entrance. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm assuming the same as you. Here for Mr. and Mrs. Kent."
"Yeah. I know she's really nervous and could use the support from all of us."
Pete put his arm around her shoulders as they walked inside to the waiting room.
Martha smiled at the sight of them. "Pete. Emmeline."
Pete and Emmeline smiled as they hugged her. "I wasn't sure if you guys wanted your space, but at the end of the day, I thought I should be here," Pete said.
"Oh, I'm so glad you both came."
"Where's Clark?"
"He'll be right back."
"Oh."
"Dr. Yeager!" Emmeline heard Garrett yell from around the hall. "Where is Dr. Yeager?! I want to speak to Dr. Yeager!"
"Just what do you think you're doing?" the doctor demanded.
"My brother needs a liver."
Garrett opened his jacket to reveal that he had a glowing green bomb strapped to his chest. Emmeline gasped and clutched onto Pete. This boy had just taken desperation to a whole new level.
"So I figure now you'll get him one," Garrett said as he held up the detonator.
Martha approached him slowly. "Garrett, this isn't gonna solve anything."
"Don't come any closer." He looked over at the doctor. "If you want anyone to leave this building with their limbs attached, you better make sure my brother gets that transplant."
Everyone in the hospital not in rooms was forced to sit in the waiting area as hostages until Vince got a liver.
Emmeline slowly went over to Garrett, her hands in front of her.
"Em, what are you doing?" Pete demanded.
"Garrett," she said cautiously. "I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. But I had a friend once named Ryan. He had a tumor in his brain and there wasn't anything they could do. Instead of having me and Clark search for doctors who could cure him, Ryan told us that he just wanted to spend his final moments with us. I know I don't really know Vince, but from what you've said about him, I think he'd say the same thing."
"I'm sorry about your friend," Garrett said coldly. "But a tumor is different. All Vince needs is a new liver and he'll be fine."
Martha came up next to Emmeline.
"Mrs. Kent, you're a nice lady. I don't want to hurt you."
"Don't do this, Garrett. It's not what your brother would want."
"I know exactly what my brother wanted. A transplant and to see me graduate high school, and I'm gonna make sure he gets both of those, even if I have to be locked up when I get that diploma." The phone at the nurse's station started ringing. Garrett walked over to it and answered it. "Yeah?" There was a pause before he asked, "Why should I trust you?" Another pause. "Okay. Come in, but just you…It's Clark or no one!" Garrett waited a bit before hanging up the phone. He stared at it for a moment before looking at his hostages. "Get out. Everyone get out! Now!"
"Garrett, please," Martha begged. "My husband is still in here. I can't leave without him."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kent. But this is the only way. Now get out!"
Emmeline gently took Martha's arm and they all left the hospital.
"Clark!" Emmeline called when she saw him approaching the entrance. "Whatever you do, please be careful."
"I will, Em. Now get out of here."
That night, Clark came over to Emmeline's house and knocked on her door.
"Hey," Emmeline answered as she came out to join him on the porch. "I've been following what happened on the news. I saw that a sniper got Garrett."
Clark looked down at the ground. "Yeah…"
"It's not your fault, Clark. I don't think Garrett's a bad guy, but losing someone twice is a lot to deal with. He just couldn't handle it. And as a result, he put a lot of lives in jeopardy. As much as I hate it, they did what had to be done."
"I wish I could've done something for him."
"I do too. I tried to tell him about Ryan, but…it didn't help. I don't think anything was going to help at that point except Vince surviving. Things like this just remind me that…we don't always get happy endings."
"I'm sorry I dragged you into all this."
"It's okay. Why don't you go and try to get some sleep? I think you could use it."
Emmeline was doing homework on one of the tables at the Talon when someone sat across from her. She looked up and was surprised at who she saw.
"Hannah."
"Hi, Emmeline."
"What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to talk. I know we haven't done that much lately."
"Because you don't want to hear what I have to say. At least not anything about the custody case. Why are you even doing this? I'm almost 18 and can legally move back here if I want."
"I know. I guess I'm hoping that you'll come to enjoy living with me by then."
"It's not that simple."
"I saw what happened at the hospital. I thought that would make you see things differently."
"There's more to the story than what was on the news. And honestly, dangerous things happen in New York too. There's going to be threats everywhere. But I'd rather deal with them here with people I care about. People who I know can protect me."
"You mean Clark?"
"…Yeah. I don't know how he does it, but I know that I can always count on him to be there when I really need him. And the same goes for Pete. I love him. I don't want to lose him now. And I don't think I could handle a long-distance relationship. You're asking me to up and leave everyone I know, including my own family."
"That's not true. They can all still visit you in New York."
"It's not the same. I prefer being in a small town. It's what I'm used to. Please don't make me do this."
Hannah sighed. "I'm just looking out for you. In time, you'll see that this was the best thing for you."
Emmeline sighed as her biological mother left the table.
This wasn't fair.
