Chapter Eight:
She stood in Dr. Crosby's office and watched her flip through her final report. Eventually she closed the folder and looked up at her.
" I know you're curious about Clark," she said eventually. Anna shrugged, ignoring the jump in her pulse at the mention of his name.
"How is he doing?" she asked eventually. Dr. Crosby sat back in her seat.
"He's doing well. He responded to treatment quickly even though we were initially worried about what damage the prolonged exposure to the green kryptonite would do to him. It took him longer to heal than normal but he did. To look at him, you wouldn't think he'd been through what he has, there isn't a scratch on him now," there was a brief silence as Anna absorbed the information, secretly gladdened that he'd come through it all so well.
"He's also asked to see you. I've tried to stall him but he's insisting that he does," she saw the nervousness in Anna's stance. The younger woman shook her head.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," she responded and Dr. Crosby tilted her head to one side and regarded her.
"Why not? It's not as though you haven't seen your past clients before," Anna sighed.
"I know, but this time it's a little different,"
"Because you like him?" Again Anna responded with a slight shrug.
" I saw what they did to him, I bore witness to what they did to him and I was powerless to stop them," She watched Dr. Crosby get to her feet.
"Clark doesn't blame you for that, nobody does" Anna watched her walk around her to the door. She opened it and looked out.
"You can come in now Clark," she said and Anna started. She spun around and saw him walk through the door, past Dr. Crosby. She looked at them both.
"I'll leave you to talk in private," she told them and closed the door behind her on her way out.
Anna could only stare at Clark in dumbfounded shock. Here he stood, tall and proud in jeans and a white t-shirt. She realised that she'd been right in her summation that he would make an imposing sight and he did. He had the whole world at his feet, had the abilities to do just that and here he stood in front of her, just looking at her with those blue eyes, which, right now looked more green than blue.
"You're Anna" It wasn't even a question, and she was mildly surprised at how quiet his voice was. She just nodded. He walked towards her and stopped a few feet away.
"I remember you," her eyes widened.
"You were kind to me, I remember you told me to trust you and I did,"
For a moment she couldn't respond, surprised that he'd even remember anything.
"You do? You remember that?" his eyes fixed on her face.
" I remember you used to come into where they kept me and you'd talk to me. Your voice was really quiet but just the way you talked to me, I knew you were there to help me," Anna sat down on one of the chairs as his words left her legs weak, her senses reeling. He sat down opposite her.
"You saved my life," she looked at him and smiled weakly.
"I helped. I was part of the team, that's all." She replied. There was a short silence. She looked at him, his high cheekbones, glossy dark hair that was in need of a trim but something told her that he preferred the way it curled at the ends. He was the picture of health as Dr. Crosby had told her.
"Do you remember much of what happened to you?" she asked eventually. He looked at her.
"I remember the pain most of all, it never seemed to end," she wanted to reach forwards and touch him.
"I'm sorry that they did that to you, that they hurt you. You didn't deserve that kind of torture," And that she couldn't do anything to stop it. That part went unspoken.
" I just want to know why, that's all" a small frown marred his brow.
"Dr. Graham wouldn't talk, they still don't know," at Clark's enquiring look she sighed quietly.
"He was found dead in his cell, they think that whomever he was protecting, got to him, though, of course, there's no proof of that," Clark sighed raggedly and frowned.
"Everyone here knows about you Clark, your abilities aren't a secret here but everyone is sworn to secrecy because at the end of the day their task here is to help you to understand and come to terms with your origins and your role in life here. I can only assume that someone else saw what you could do for themselves or had enough information to be curious. Someone with huge influence" she explained. Clark listened to her as she spoke, allowed the words to be absorbed. It had always been a possibility thatit would happen one day.