Chapter 6: Guilt
*****
For the second that night, the bathroom attendant was startled by the door slamming open with a frantic Clark Kent busting through and heading straight to the stall. 'Damn kids, and their eating disorders!' he thought as he shook his head before another figure burst through the door.
"M'am, you're not supposed to be in here!" he yelled out.
"I need to take care of my Clarky!" she bellowed out in response.
Maria rushed to his aid and did her best to hold Clark's body up as he convulsed over the toilet. She rubbed his back attentatively as he finished expelling the last of his stomach contents.
"I'm so, sorry Clark; I would have warned you about the goose liver if I knew you were squeamish! This is all my fault!" Maria cried hysterically as she guided Clark over to the sink.
"It's not your fault. Just... yeah... tell me about the weird things before I bite into it," Clark said as he washed up, ignorant of her arm which had been wrapped tightly around his back the whole time.
Maria wiped the stray tears from her eyes and started to laugh as she looked into the mirror.
"What?" asked Clark, before he realized his clip-on tie had fallen off.
At the side, the bathroom attendant also started to crack up. The absurdity of an alien being pregnant with his girlfriend's baby, being forced to go on a date with an obsessed seductress, going to a fancy french restaurant with a clip-on tie and throwing up in the men's room twice in one night was too much. Maria held his head on her shoulder as he slumped over chuckled. When the laughter subsided, Clark raised his head and caught Maria's eye.
They looked at each other long enough for him to see the glint in her eye when she looked at him. For just a moment, Clark felt a slight warmth and comfort in her presence. That feeling was quickly replaced with guilt as he broke eye contact.
"Maria..."
The mood was broken. Clark's lips fell silent as he looked down. Maria's hand cupping his crotch.
*****
Lana yawned as she awoke from her long slumber on a large bed in the guest room of Dean's high-rise apartment. Her muscles and joints were still sore. Nell was going all out to convince her Metropolis would make a great home for them, and she couldn't really disagree. They had taken her on a whirlwind tour - shopping, dining, watching great plays, and admiring beautiful works of art in the various galleries and museums around the city. It was certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the quaint atmosphere of Smallville.
But nothing they could show her or buy her could change the fact that her heart and therefore her home was back in that little town where she grew up - with the Talon, and with Clark. She groaned at the wall and silently crossed off another day in her mental calendar... soon she would return to him and their child. At least she would bring home a nice haul, she thought idly, looking at the many shopping bags that comprised her bounty of bribes. A wicked smile passed her lips as she remembered the silky black ensemble she had secretly purchased from a posh lingerie shop. Her thoughts prompted her to pick up the phone and dial.
"Hello Lana," replied a shrill, but unfamiliar voice.
Her mouth went slack when she didn't recognize the female voice on the other end.
"Who is this? Where's Clark?"
"Oh... Clark's um... preoccupied. I'll tell him you called."
A lengthy maniacal laugh followed which was cut short by mysterious woman ended the call.
Lana's eyes bulged and she dialed the number again, but the phone had apparently been turned off. 'What the fuck...' she thought. She punched in Pete's number instead.
"Hello - Petey here."
"Pete? Do you know where Clark is?"
"Oh hey Lana. How's Metropolis? See anything interesting?"
"Fine. No, not really. I really need to talk to Clark."
"He's um... I'm not sure where he is," he replied, his shaky tone betraying his words. He was never a good liar.
"Pete!" she screamed with righteous indignation.
"Whoa, calm down. No need to get all pissy. He didn't tell you yet?"
"Tell me what?" she huffed.
*****
Clark stared at the all the people around him. His eyelids threatened to close as his boredom grew to new heights. He was about to sit down, but an elderly lady grabbed his arm and chastised him.
"Don't sit on that, young man, that's an original Gregory Geiger from the late 19th century! It's worth a fortune!"
He looked down dumbfounded... it looked like a rotting old chair to him.
"I'm sorry, m'am," he said politely before rolling his eyes and walking off in search of some place to rest. Of all the things Maria could be interested in, who knew antiquing would be one of them. He finally found a bench to sit on as he stared at all the junk that had been brought into the convention centre. A huge banner hung from the rafters that read "PBS presents The Antique Roadshow." He wanted to cry.
A piercing scream didn't help as Maria yelped and motioned for Clark to come over. Clark regretfully lifted his form and stalked over towards her. She was next in line to have her one of her items appraised.
"Oh my God isn't this exciting, Clark? Look at all the cameras - I've going to be on TV! I'm going to introduce you as my fiancée, okay?" she said excitedly.
"Um, you know, I kind of have an aversion to cameras. Kinda shy you know? I think I'll just stand back here and let you have your moment."
"Aww, you're so sweet! Letting me have my fifteen minutes of fame!" she exclaimed as she got on her tippy toes and kissed her on the cheek.
Clark managed a weak smile as he pulled away, cursing under his breath, as a cameraman stepped up and asked Maria to place the doll on the pedestal for the filming. A makeup artist came and patted down her face as she was sweating profusely from the exhilaration. The doll itself was quite hideous, though scarily life-like. It reminded Clark of the doll Susan had on 'Seinfeld' that looked like George's mother. The eyes were a frightening shade of black and the hair was outrageously curly. One side of the lip was split, and the nose was chipped.
A middle-aged, short, bookish man with thick glasses, adorned in plaid approached her and whispered in her ear, as the producer gave the cue to start filming.
"Hello there, my name is Aaron Zimmerman, and I'll be your appraiser today," the man said courteously, shaking Maria's hand.
"Hi, my name is Maria - and ooh, I'm so excited. I love this show!"
"That's great Maria, now I understand you have an antique doll you have that you want me to take a look at..."
*****
A/N: How Lana reacted to what Pete told her, and the fate of Maria's doll will be told in the next chapter. *End Chapter Six*
*****
For the second that night, the bathroom attendant was startled by the door slamming open with a frantic Clark Kent busting through and heading straight to the stall. 'Damn kids, and their eating disorders!' he thought as he shook his head before another figure burst through the door.
"M'am, you're not supposed to be in here!" he yelled out.
"I need to take care of my Clarky!" she bellowed out in response.
Maria rushed to his aid and did her best to hold Clark's body up as he convulsed over the toilet. She rubbed his back attentatively as he finished expelling the last of his stomach contents.
"I'm so, sorry Clark; I would have warned you about the goose liver if I knew you were squeamish! This is all my fault!" Maria cried hysterically as she guided Clark over to the sink.
"It's not your fault. Just... yeah... tell me about the weird things before I bite into it," Clark said as he washed up, ignorant of her arm which had been wrapped tightly around his back the whole time.
Maria wiped the stray tears from her eyes and started to laugh as she looked into the mirror.
"What?" asked Clark, before he realized his clip-on tie had fallen off.
At the side, the bathroom attendant also started to crack up. The absurdity of an alien being pregnant with his girlfriend's baby, being forced to go on a date with an obsessed seductress, going to a fancy french restaurant with a clip-on tie and throwing up in the men's room twice in one night was too much. Maria held his head on her shoulder as he slumped over chuckled. When the laughter subsided, Clark raised his head and caught Maria's eye.
They looked at each other long enough for him to see the glint in her eye when she looked at him. For just a moment, Clark felt a slight warmth and comfort in her presence. That feeling was quickly replaced with guilt as he broke eye contact.
"Maria..."
The mood was broken. Clark's lips fell silent as he looked down. Maria's hand cupping his crotch.
*****
Lana yawned as she awoke from her long slumber on a large bed in the guest room of Dean's high-rise apartment. Her muscles and joints were still sore. Nell was going all out to convince her Metropolis would make a great home for them, and she couldn't really disagree. They had taken her on a whirlwind tour - shopping, dining, watching great plays, and admiring beautiful works of art in the various galleries and museums around the city. It was certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the quaint atmosphere of Smallville.
But nothing they could show her or buy her could change the fact that her heart and therefore her home was back in that little town where she grew up - with the Talon, and with Clark. She groaned at the wall and silently crossed off another day in her mental calendar... soon she would return to him and their child. At least she would bring home a nice haul, she thought idly, looking at the many shopping bags that comprised her bounty of bribes. A wicked smile passed her lips as she remembered the silky black ensemble she had secretly purchased from a posh lingerie shop. Her thoughts prompted her to pick up the phone and dial.
"Hello Lana," replied a shrill, but unfamiliar voice.
Her mouth went slack when she didn't recognize the female voice on the other end.
"Who is this? Where's Clark?"
"Oh... Clark's um... preoccupied. I'll tell him you called."
A lengthy maniacal laugh followed which was cut short by mysterious woman ended the call.
Lana's eyes bulged and she dialed the number again, but the phone had apparently been turned off. 'What the fuck...' she thought. She punched in Pete's number instead.
"Hello - Petey here."
"Pete? Do you know where Clark is?"
"Oh hey Lana. How's Metropolis? See anything interesting?"
"Fine. No, not really. I really need to talk to Clark."
"He's um... I'm not sure where he is," he replied, his shaky tone betraying his words. He was never a good liar.
"Pete!" she screamed with righteous indignation.
"Whoa, calm down. No need to get all pissy. He didn't tell you yet?"
"Tell me what?" she huffed.
*****
Clark stared at the all the people around him. His eyelids threatened to close as his boredom grew to new heights. He was about to sit down, but an elderly lady grabbed his arm and chastised him.
"Don't sit on that, young man, that's an original Gregory Geiger from the late 19th century! It's worth a fortune!"
He looked down dumbfounded... it looked like a rotting old chair to him.
"I'm sorry, m'am," he said politely before rolling his eyes and walking off in search of some place to rest. Of all the things Maria could be interested in, who knew antiquing would be one of them. He finally found a bench to sit on as he stared at all the junk that had been brought into the convention centre. A huge banner hung from the rafters that read "PBS presents The Antique Roadshow." He wanted to cry.
A piercing scream didn't help as Maria yelped and motioned for Clark to come over. Clark regretfully lifted his form and stalked over towards her. She was next in line to have her one of her items appraised.
"Oh my God isn't this exciting, Clark? Look at all the cameras - I've going to be on TV! I'm going to introduce you as my fiancée, okay?" she said excitedly.
"Um, you know, I kind of have an aversion to cameras. Kinda shy you know? I think I'll just stand back here and let you have your moment."
"Aww, you're so sweet! Letting me have my fifteen minutes of fame!" she exclaimed as she got on her tippy toes and kissed her on the cheek.
Clark managed a weak smile as he pulled away, cursing under his breath, as a cameraman stepped up and asked Maria to place the doll on the pedestal for the filming. A makeup artist came and patted down her face as she was sweating profusely from the exhilaration. The doll itself was quite hideous, though scarily life-like. It reminded Clark of the doll Susan had on 'Seinfeld' that looked like George's mother. The eyes were a frightening shade of black and the hair was outrageously curly. One side of the lip was split, and the nose was chipped.
A middle-aged, short, bookish man with thick glasses, adorned in plaid approached her and whispered in her ear, as the producer gave the cue to start filming.
"Hello there, my name is Aaron Zimmerman, and I'll be your appraiser today," the man said courteously, shaking Maria's hand.
"Hi, my name is Maria - and ooh, I'm so excited. I love this show!"
"That's great Maria, now I understand you have an antique doll you have that you want me to take a look at..."
*****
A/N: How Lana reacted to what Pete told her, and the fate of Maria's doll will be told in the next chapter. *End Chapter Six*