Disclaimer: Yeah, I own nothing...what of it? STOP RUBBING IT IN!! ::sobs::

A/N: Whoo! Chapter 3! Okay, show of hands, who's been waiting expectantly for me to update and find out what happened to Clark?

"Oh god, no, he's not... He can't be..." Mrs. Kent's knees felt weak and she sank into the nearest chair.
Lana's heart froze in her chest; she crushed Chloe's hand in hers. Chloe winced, but couldn't complain, since she was doing the same to her.
"No, he's alive. It was touch and go for awhile, there was a lot of damage to his lungs and kidneys. He had a lot of internal bleeding," Mrs. Kent's eyes grew wide with horror. The doctor continued hastily, "We've stopped all internal bleeding, stitched him up inside and out."
"But?" Lana asked when he paused.
"But all of the ribs on his left side are broken, as are three ribs on his right, one of which had punctured his lung. His right wrist and collarbone were fractured. Plus, with the extensive head trauma and blood loss," He paused and took a deep breath. "Clark has slipped into a coma."

They were lost for words. They just stood there, staring at him in disbelief. Chloe was the first to recover her voice, and when she spoke it seemed to shake the others out of their shocked silence. "C- can we... um... go see him?" She asked quietly, frowning slightly.
"Sure," he replied gently. "You can go in whenever you're ready. But I should warn you, it's not a pretty sight." Chloe nodded as the doctor told them Clark's room number then turned and walked away in gloomy silence. Mr. Kent excused himself for a moment, saying that he had forgotten to call Lex.

"This can't be happening." Lana murmured, pacing for a few seconds then sitting on the edge of a chair, placed her face in her slender hands and began to cry. Chloe crouched before her, tears forming in her eyes. She pulled Lana's hands away from her face. Their eyes met, "Chloe," Lana sobbed, and threw her arms around her friend's neck and cried into her shoulder. Chloe laid her head on Lana's shoulder, trying to comfort her with quiet soothing noises and gentle stokes down her back, but eventually she broke and began to cry too. They heard Mrs. Kent crying behind them and Pete and Mr. Kent's voices, hoarse with restrained tears, trying to console her. Chloe pulled Lana up and they joined the others in a tight group hug, the women still crying loudly and the men letting slow silent droplets fall from pain filled eyes.

They entered the little room in near silence, only broken by the occasional sniff or quiet sob. Lana turned quickly from the sight before her, leaning into the gentle arms that Chloe put around her. Chloe shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to see anymore, but unable to get the image of Clark, bloody, broken, still, and ghostly pale, out of her head. "Oh God," Chloe whispered. Lana squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep, shaky breath, then reopened her red-rimmed eyes. Mrs. Kent sat by the bed, stroking Clark's uninjured hand, running her fingers over the IV taped in place there. Tears fell onto his pale hand, glistening brightly before being wiped away by her hand. Mr. Kent laid his hand on Clark's head, brushing his thumb gently over his forehead, effectively getting Clark's disheveled hair out of his face.
Lana, Chloe, and Pete pulled chairs up against the walls and sat down. Lana covered her face with her hands and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder. A tense silence ensued.

August 7, 2004
4: 45 AM

Lex walked into the room, dreading what he was about to see. He was not disappointed. He shut his eyes at the sight, grimacing. A moment later they reopened and he came further inside, shaking hands with Mr. Kent and Pete and hugging the girls.
"Sorry it took me so long. I was spending the week in Metropolis to attend a series of board meetings in my fathers place; otherwise I would have been here sooner." He paused, "How's he doing?" Mr. Kent's eyes dropped to the floor.
"Not so good, Lex," His eyes meeting Lex's pale ones. Lex sighed heavily and sat on the edge of the only empty chair in the room.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked.
"No, we just have to wait, and hope."

August 9, 2004
Two days later...

"Mrs. Kent?" Dr. Brousse tapped gently on the door frame. Martha started and looked over at him, her eyes hooded and dark.
"Yes, doctor?" She asked and her voice was hoarse.
"Is Mr. Kent around?"
"No, he went to get some food with the girls, Pete's in the bathroom, and Lex went with John. But they should be back in a minute. Why?"
"I had something I wanted to tell you that I found rather disturbing, but I'll wait for them to get back." He replied vaguely, checking monitors and IV drips, making short notes on his pad of paper and clipboard.

Pete walked into the room, looking tired, and a few minutes later Mr. Kent, Lex, Chloe, and Lana followed, carrying coffees and bagels for everyone. John looked at the doctor in surprise, catching Martha's eye questioningly. She shrugged and cleared her throat, effectively getting Dr. Brousse's attention.
"We're all here. What's the big news?" She asked.
"Well, not exactly big, but certainly strange." Martha raised an irritated eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat, "We found a trace of an unusual toxin in his system. We're not quite sure what it is yet, but we're running some more tests. I think this toxin may be disabling his body's ability to heal itself, clotting wounds, stopping bleeding and things like that. This may explain why the wounds that weren't deep enough to stitch haven't stopped bleeding yet. But, like I said, we'll have to run some more extensive tests."
"O-okay," John replied. Dr. Brousse nodded cordially then left the room without another word. Pete dragged Mr. Kent out into the hall for a moment.

"Do you think that's why Clark hasn't used his abilities to heal himself yet?" Pete asked.
"It's possible," John frowned as a sudden thought struck him. "I wonder if that's why he didn't fight back when Redd attacked him. Maybe this toxin doesn't just stop the healing process; maybe it disables his other abilities too." The two exchanged a scared look as the truth of that statement struck them. "Maybe that's why he didn't fight back. Maybe he couldn't."
"I think that's exactly what happened," Pete replied. "Oh boy, this just got very bad, very fast. If Morgan knows about Clark's abilities..." His voice trailed off, the prospect was just too terrible to voice.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Okay, I want at least six reviews, so get to it faithful readers of mine. Thanks loads for your nice words and for reading my fic. Loads of love. Saph