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Chapter 2

As Jonathan pulled up to the farm, he could barely control the urge to jump out of the truck even though it was still moving. He couldn't explain why, but actually waiting to stop the vehicle and turn it off seemed like it would take an eternity. Once he was onhis way home, the urgency to see his son's face rose to an all time high. He had never before felt the emotions he was feeling now so profoundly. He wanted to set things right with his son. No, he needed to.

When he finally stepped out of the truck and looked around at the farm, he immediately became alarmed. Clark was nowhere in sight. Normally when he arrived home, especially after being gone for so long, Clark would come out and greet him. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He had to keep reminding himself that right now their relationship was not on the best of terms. Clark was probably too scared or upset to come out and face him; he was scared he would get another lecture on making unwise decisions. A tear slipped down Jonathan's face and he quickly wiped it away. "Oh, Clark," he whispered softly, "I would take it back if I could."

Jonathan immediately went to the first place he thought of to look for his son: the barn, Clark's Fortress of Solitude. He walked inside and immediately yelled, "Clark." He expected to hear his son's voice but only deafening silence answered him. He immediately climbed the steps to the loft and looked around. All the lights were turned off and it gave Jonathan a chill. "Where is he," he thought.

He went back downstairs and walked back into the sunlight. The need to find Clark was intensifying every second he couldn't find him. He looked at the house, quickly ran to it, and went inside. He once again yelled his son's name and once again he was greeted with the same silence. Even though he knew Clark wouldn't ignore his calls intentionally, he climbed the stairs anyway and went to Clark's room. He was actually hoping he would find Clark laying on his bed with a mad and stubborn expression on his face. That he could handle, but not finding him was becoming too overwhelming. He was on the verge of freaking out, and that was saying something because Jonathan Kent doesn't freak out.

He took a long calming breath and went back downstairs. "He's probably out with Pete or Lana somewhere," he told himself. He inhaled deeply again. He walked around the house looking for any trace of Clark and perhaps where he had gone. He found nothing.

He picked up the phone and was about to call Pete when he heard the front door open. Jonathan immediately dropped the phone back on the counter, said his son's name loudly, and whirled around to see Lana standing there with tears streaming down her face.

"Lana," he said surprised. He crossed the room to meet her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Somehow he knew it had to do with Clark. Deep in his heart he knew something had happened.

"Oh, Mr. Kent," sobbed Lana.

Jonathan didn't know what else to do so he hugged the young girl. As Lana's tears subsided, he pulled away from her and asked, "Are you okay?"

Lana nodded feeling so selfish. Here she was crying because Clark had left and his father was standing here not knowing. She wiped her eyes and shook her head. "No, I'm not," she answered truthfully, "but I'm not here to talk about how I'm feeling. I have to tell you something about Clark." Lana immediately turned away from Jonathan. She didn't want to see his face once she told him that his only son had run away from home and that she didn't stop him.

"What is it, Lana?"

She closed her eyes and let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Clark left," she said softly. It was the only words she could muster at this point in time. The tears immediately fell once more.

Jonathan stood there not knowing what to say and, more importantly, what to do. He stared at the back of Lana's head and finally gasped out, "He left?"

Lana finally turned around and looked into Mr. Kent's eyes. She started crying harder and said, "He wasn't making any sense. He kept blaming himself for Mrs. Kent losing the baby and for whatever happened with that hole. He said he brought nothing but pain to everyone's lives. I tried to stop him from leaving, Mr. Kent, but I couldn't."

Jonathan felt sick. He couldn't hardly breathe, and he certainly couldn't believe his ears. He immediately turned around and reached out a shaky hand to lean on the table. "This is all my fault," Jonathan whispered a little too loudly.

Lana winced at his words. It reminded her of Clark. She fought the urge to get on to Mr. Kent for thinking such a thing, but then she realized she didn't know what happened. Something obviously made Clark feel like he had to run away, and something obviously made his father think he was at fault.

Jonathan finally regained his composure enough to turn to Lana and ask, "Do you know where he went?"

She shook her head sadly. "No."

Jonathan turned back around and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. He then said, "Lana, I appreciate you coming to tell me. You should go on home and get some rest. I'll look for Clark."

Lana nodded at him even though he couldn't see the gesture since he had his back to her. She quietly slipped out of the house without another word. She knew he wanted to be alone so he could figure out exactly how to find Clark. She went down the steps and looked at the spot where Clark had left her. "We're going to bring you back," she whispered. Of that much, she was certain.

Jonathan was still standing in the same stop he had been in when Lana left. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't know exactly what. He knew eventually he would have to tell Martha that Clark had ran away. He also knew he would have to go out and find Clark. He just didn't know what order to them in. He sighed deeply and suddenly realized he couldn't keep Martha in the dark about this. Someone was bound to show up at the hospital and tell her he had left. He wanted to be the one who broke the news. He picked up the phone and dialed the hospital, thenhe suddenly clicked it off. He couldn't do it over the phone. He had to face her face-to-face even though he knew it would be one of the hardest things he would ever have to do. It was because of him that their son was gone...

Martha knew something was wrong. She could feel it. The longer the time passed since Jonathan left, the more anxious she became. She kept staring at the door waiting for Jonathan and Clark to walk through it, but they never came. When Jonathan did walk through the door after several hours, she immediately noticed their son was not with him.

Before Martha could get a word out, Jonathan closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears.

Martha covered her mouth with her hand. She knew it was bad. Her husband would never cry over nothing. "Jonathan," she whispered and held her hand out to him. He immediately walked over to her and grasped her hand so tightly that she was afraid he was going to cut off the circulation. She wanted to ask him where Clark was and what had happened, but she decided to wait and let him tell her when he was ready.

It took several minutes before Jonathan was able to talk. "I…" he started and his voice immediately broke. He cleared his voice and looked at his wife sorrowfully. "I couldn't find him," he whispered.

Martha breathed in sharply but reminded herself to stay calm. "I'm sure he's out somewhere with Pete blowing off some steam."

Jonathan immediately shook his head. "No." It was all he could say.

Martha waited for him to continue but when he didn't, she softly asked, "Why do you say that?"

He knew he was about to tear her world apart, but she had the right to know. She is Clark's mother, after all. "Lana came over to the farm while I was there."

"And," Martha asked softly. She could tell Jonathan needed some persuading to get the story out of him. He seemed reluctant to tell her even though she knew he had come here for that purpose.

Jonathan looked down at their hands. He knew it was becoming a habit nowadays. "She told me Clark had run away," he answered finally. He heard her breathe in sharply and he looked up into her eyes. Tears glistened her eyes and his tearsstarted to fall all over again. He shook his head and cried, "I'm so sorry, Martha. I knew I shouldn't have spoken to him the way I did. I drove our son away and I will never forgive myself for that."

Martha immediately pulled Jonathan down to sit on the bed beside her. Once he was sitting, she leaned up and hugged him tightly. "Don't say that," she whispered. "This isn't your fault. Clark's biological father is the one whowas pushing him to leave, not you."

Jonathan shook his head almost violently. "He may have kept pushing, but I was the one who made it happen, Martha."

"No," she said sharply.

"You weren't there," he cried. "I treated our son horribly and now he's gone. He left because of me."

Martha hugged Jonathan tighter and said, "He'll come home eventually. He may just need some space right now."

Jonathan pulled back and said, "But what if he doesn't."

"Then we'll go out and find him. One way or another, he'll come home, Jonathan."

Jonathan didn't look so convinced and his expression turned even more grim when they heard a voice from the door say, "Yeah, but it's going to be a lot harder than you think."

Jonathan and Martha immediately broke their embrace and looked towards the door. Pete stood there and quickly walked inside. He had heard the tail end of their conversation and knew they knew Clark was gone. As Clark's parents made eye contact with him, he explained his earlier statement: "Clark's wearing red kryptonite."