Chapter 5 - Peace Offerings

It was Saturday morning: well, close to morning. Clark had slept late today. It was noon. It was quiet, and upon waking he found that Lana had left. The mood for camping was ruined and all reluctantly decided to go home.

Now Clark was sitting in his room thinking. He didn't know what to say to Lana. He knew she had a right to be angry, but he didn't know if he even wanted to tell her his secret anymore. He sighed, thinking about the other problem he had. Chloe was leaving soon. He had told her they would work it out, but in all honesty, he didn't have a clue what to do.

Suddenly he heard some interesting conversation coming from the kitchen. He focused his hearing.

"Martha, it's going to be okay. We got through this before. Remember the day Clark came home from Metropolis? Everything worked out after that and it's going to work out again."

Martha broke out in sobs.

"It's so hard, Jonathon. We've done everything we could, yet we still can't cover the bills. We just can't take out another loan."

Clark looked down. He hadn't realized his parents were having trouble paying the bills.

Jonathon held Martha closer. A look of concern was evident on his face.

"The only thing I can think of is to take in boarders. But we can't really do that, can we?" Martha said, "What if one of them finds out about Clark?"

"Martha, we'll have to do what we have to. We'll get through it, just as we always have." Jonathon comforted, embracing her.

Clark stood up. He had heard enough, and he wasn't about to let his parents lose the farm because of him. He walked down to the kitchen.

What he saw surprised him. His mom was in a worse state than he had thought.

"Clark!" Martha practically squeaked. She hadn't expected him to come down.

"Mom, dad, I kind of heard what you were talking about when I was upstairs and…"

Jonathon frowned. "Clark, do not tell me you were using that hearing of yours to eavesdrop on us."

Clark's face dropped. "I just wanted to help. I heard what mom said about not taking in boarders and I don't want you to not do it because of me."

"Clark, we can't just let people stay here. You'd constantly have to refrain from using your abilities. And besides that, what if one of them finds out your secret?"

"Well actually, dad, I have an idea."

Jonathon looked at him with surprise.

"Chloe and her dad are going to have to move because Gabe lost his job, and they can't afford where they're staying. So maybe they can stay here. Chloe already knows my secret, anyway."

"But Gabe doesn't. Clark, do you realize what you're saying? You'd have to be extremely careful, all of the time." Martha said, regaining composure.

"It's a small sacrifice to make." Clark said.

"No, Clark, it's a big sacrifice. One we didn't want to have to make."

"Dad, it's ok. I can deal with it."

Jonathon looked conflicted. What other choice did they have?

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt to mention it to Chloe," said Jonathon. "We'd have to make up the attic though, since we only have one guest room."

"I can do that." Clark said, smiling. "Do you want me to do it now?"

"Well, you should probably wait to see what Gabe says first. He may have other plans." Jonathon said.

"I just thought of something." Martha mentioned. "Isn't Lana staying with the Sullivans?"

"Oh, I never thought of that." Clark said. "Well, I would say that she'd live in the Talon's apartment, anyway."

"We'll get it figured out, son."

Clark nodded.

Chloe was at the Talon sipping her coffee with Pete.

"Hey, Chloe, I have something I wanted to talk to you about." Clark said.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"Well, my family was considering taking in boarders, and I told them about you and your dad having to move away. Since you can't afford where you're staying now, maybe you could board with us." Clark told her.

The shattering of the coffee cup that Chloe was once holding so firmly echoed throughout the Talon as the coffee drenched her waist and most of the floor underneath the booth. She silently cursed herself for being so clumsy.

"What?" she stuttered.

"Well, dad needs more help with the farm, and kind of…needs the money." Clark said reluctantly. "What's wrong Chloe?"

"Um…nothing Clark."

"I figured I'd mention it to you, but if you don't like the idea…" Clark began.

"No, no, it's a really good idea. Dad's on unemployment now, so he can afford to pay rent, but not a mortgage. There was just no where to stay. I just didn't think that you'd say something like that. It took me by surprise."

"Well, I guess that we could help each other."

Chloe smiled. "I guess we could. I'll mention it to Dad."

Chloe looked into Clark's eyes, and was immediately captured. She couldn't believe that this was the guy who used to be an incredible jerk to her.

At that moment Lana walked up to the booth to clean up the mess. "You want a cloth or something Chloe?" she asked the perky blonde haired girl.

"Huh?"

"You know, to clean up the mess on your skirt."

"Oh . . . yeah!" Chloe blushed. "Damn you Clark. You and your making me forget about everything else." She mumbled. She looked up and Clark was blushing. Immediately she realized she had said that aloud.

Lana looked uncomfortable. "So what happened anyway?" Lana asked.

Chloe looked up at Lana and explained Clark's idea. She immediately saw Lana's eyes widen and then look quickly down at the ground. Oh no.

"What is it Lana?"

"Oh…it's…nothing really." Lana said, faking a smile, and took the mop and left. Chloe was still without a cloth or napkin. Everyone sighed. All three stood up and left the Talon. It was obvious that Lana wasn't happy right now and staying wasn't going to make anything better.

Outside the Talon, Chloe thought of something. "Clark, you realize that you'd have to refrain from using any powers if my dad was there, don't you?" she mentioned.

Clark nodded. "I know that, but you should know that you're in danger of sounding like my Dad."

Chloe playfully punched him.

"What's Lana going to do?" asked Pete.

"I don't know. I guess I'll just have to break the news to her," Chloe said. "I mean we did offer to let her stay, but if we can't afford to stay ourselves, well, I guess everything changes."

Clark's house . . .

Clark's dad was on the phone when he returned. Clark ran up to his room and put on his headphones. Shoving in a CD, he turned on the 'tunes' to low and sat down to chill out for a while. He had always wanted the volume up before his enhanced hearing came about. Now however, there was no need. All he had to do was relax.

"Clark!" came a loud yell from the kitchen. It was Jonathon. Clark speeded to the kitchen, leaving a breeze behind him.

"I was just talking to Gabe. It seems that he and Chloe are going to be moving in. However, he wants to wait until Lana makes other arrangements. I want to let you know, though, that we did discuss the possibility of Lana moving in too, since everyone's unsure what she's going to do."

Clark groaned. "Well that should be fun."

But Jonathon wasn't finished yet. "Clark, are you sure you're ok with this, because if you're not I can stop this whole thing before it starts."

Clark nodded. "I'm fine. I'll just have to adapt a little, especially if Lana stays here."

"Clark?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"As much as taking in boarders bothers me, I'm proud of the way you're handling it."

Again, a silhouette with raven hair stood in the doorway of Lex's study. He didn't need anyone to tell him it was Lana Lang.

"What's the matter Lana? You seem perturbed." Lex asked, as Lana stepped into the dimly lit study.

"Chloe is going to be boarding with Clark, so she isn't going to be moving after all." Lana said.

"That sounds great. Why so upset?"

"It is, but now I may not have a place to stay. I have to make other arrangements quickly. Any ideas?"

"Why not just stay in the Talon's apartment?"

"I already thought of that. I don't think that Nell would agree, and when she found out she would want me to come to Metropolis with her."

Lex looked conflicted for a minute. "I'd offer to let you stay here, but that would look kind of suspicious or improper, I imagine."

"Well, Gabe was discussing the possibility of my staying with the Kents."

"Why not do that? It seems like the better choice."

"I don't really know if I want to be around Clark all the time."

"You could use it to your advantage."

Lana looked up and nodded. She knew what Lex was talking about and he was right.

"Do you need anything else?" Lex asked her.

"No. But, thanks a lot Lex, for standing by me through this. I need to do it."

"I know."

It was suppertime at the Kent home, and Clark and his parents were sitting at the table for dinner. Although worried about the family's monetary problems, Clark was happy that Chloe would be moving in soon. It was nice to see him so content about something for a change.

"So Jonathon, how did your visit to the doctor go today?" Martha asked.

Clark looked at his mom. "What visit?" he said.

"The one to check on my heart condition. The weirdest thing happened actually. The doctor said that although my condition seemed critical on my last visit, my heart is back to being as healthy as it was before my…" Jonathon realized what he said and stopped.

"Before what, honey?"

"Before my surgery…" Jonathon tried to fill in.

"Or before your deal with Jor-el. Right, dad?"

Jonathon went pale. How did Clark know?

"What deal with Jor-el? You made a deal with Jor-el?" Martha asked, furious.

Clark was amused by the way his father acted when put on the spot. He guessed that was who he got it from. Before interrupting to reassure his dad, however, Clark decided to wait, to find out exactly what the deal was.

"I made a deal with Jor-el that if he helped me bring Clark back, then we wouldn't interfere with him and Clark. He told me that I'd have a very short life span because of it, but I didn't listen." Jonathon said, sighing. He knew he was caught.

"You what? What did Jor-el do to you?" Martha exclaimed.

"He gave me Kryptonian abilities." Jonathon said.

Clark figured it was time to butt in. "It's ok, mom."

"No Clark, that is most certainly not okay! How could you, Jonathon?"

"Mom! Dad! Ahem!" Clark cleared his throat. "It's okay. I mean it. I met with Jor-el last night and I was told that your deal is off."

"Clark how did you?"

"Clark, don't tell me that you agreed to leave?" Martha asked.

Clark grabbed at the collar of his plaid shirt, remembering the scar still on his chest from the night before. He figured he had better not tell his parents about it, or they would worry, and they didn't need something else to worry about right now.

"No, actually, I was there with Pete and Chloe, and I told off Jor-el. So did they, actually."

"And he listened?" Jonathon's voice was filled with surprise.

"No, actually he didn't. It's a really long explanation."

"We have lots of time." Martha said, staring daggers at Jonathon.

"Well, it wasn't actually Jor-el that was controlling the cave, it was a chip that had information to protect and guide me, but it malfunctioned. I destroyed it and Jor-el and Lara came forward and explained everything to me. According to them you shouldn't have been harmed at all by having my powers."

Clark didn't think that he'd ever seen his parents this shocked at something. "By the way," he added, "They both asked me to thank you for taking me in and caring for me. They said that they purposely sent me to you, Dad, because of the kindness Jor-el experienced from your father." It felt weird for Clark to say that, but it was something he thought that his parents should hear.

"Oh my God." Martha mouthed.

Jonathon looked down at his supper. It was cold. "Well, so much for supper tonight. How about we get directly to dessert?"

Martha returned to her old self. "Jonathon!" she said, as she playfully hit him on the back of the head.

"I should take you down to meet them sometime." Clark offered. "To really meet them."

"Yes, you should." Martha agreed, and she stood up to get the pie anyway, since this was now a special occasion.

After a long day, it was around 10:00 p.m. in the evening.

At Chloe's house . . .

Lana paraded through the door.

"You're home late." Chloe said.

"Yeah, well it took me longer than usual to clean up today."

"Lana, I hope you don't feel like we're kicking you out. That's not our intention, we just don't have much of a choice in the matter. It's either move to Metropolis or stay with Clark."

"No, I don't feel that way, Chloe. Besides, Mr. Kent and your father were talking and I may be staying with Clark too."

"You're what?" Chloe asked, surprised, almost dropping this coffee in the process.

Lana smiled.

"Anyway, Chloe, I'm tired so I'm going to have a nap for a while ok?"

"Sure." Chloe agreed.

"This is going to go over well with Clark," Chloe thought, and sighed.