For the life of him, he didn't know how kids were able to get sauce all the way up on their foreheads. Why couldn't his mom have fixed something less messy?
"I want Mommy to clean me up!" she said.
"Mommy's not here," he said, holding out his arm in case she tried to kick.
"When will we see Mommy?"
"Soon I hope."
"Tonight?"
"Maybe but I can't promise anything."
"Oh boy! I get to see my mommy."
It went in one ear and out the other. She needed to inherit his super hearing. He hoped Lana was her mother for everyone's sake.
"There! You're all cleaned up except for your clothes. Mamaw's going to wash them if she gets some time," he said, as he helped her down," oh and before I forget, I want to play a game."
"What game?"
"Whenever we're around somebody besides Mamaw or brother, we'll call each other by our first names."
She looked at him suspiciously. She was a smart 4-year-old.
"You already call me by my first name," she said.
"See? I'm already in the lead. You better start calling me Clark, if you want to win."
"You're weird, Daddy but I'll play if you want."
There was the sound of a car door.
"Mommy's here!" she shouted.
She opened the front door and threw herself around Lana's legs. Lilly looked up with her face full of happiness and excitement and saw Lana's face. The expression changed to confusion then anger.
She turned toward Clark and yelled, "you lied to me! That's not my mommy!" and then ran up to Clark's room, slamming the door.
"Sorry, Lana. I shouldn't have called you to baby sit. She's a little emotional. I should just wait until my mom gets back."
"I have nothing better to do. Lex is out of town. I want to watch them. Go do whatever it is you were going to do."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Remember the boy with the aging problem that thought we were his parents. I can handle children."
"Okay. When she comes out, get her ready for bed and the baby should sleep. I brought them some things they needed during supper. It's in a bag on the kitchen table. There's diapers, baby food, toys, toothbrush, and all that stuff."
"I'm a professional babysitter. I know what to do."
"Watch out for the girl. She may try to kick or throw a heavy object. If she does, run!"
"Whose kids are they anyway?"
"Um. They belong to a distant relative of mine and we're keeping them for a little bit."
"I thought she kind of looked like you. What's their names?"
"The girl's is Lilly but I'm not sure about the boy. Lilly just calls him brother. He's asleep in my old playpen in Mom's room. If I'm going anywhere, I better go."
"Have fun!"
Clark got in the truck. He didn't want Lana to know or suspect that it had anything to do with the cave.
He supposed he knew deep down that Lana wasn't their mother. She was a childhood sweetheart, who was going to remain one. Their romantic relationship had truly come to an end. He couldn't think of any other woman in his life that he had ever had those kinds of feelings for. The truth was he probably hadn't even met the mother-to-be yet and he was going to be handling the kids by himself, hopefully for a short period of time.
He got out and began to carefully search the cave. There wasn't a crystal to be found. He hated to do it but maybe he should look in the fortress for the answers. Someone came in before he could leave. It was just his mother.
"The meeting wasn't very long," he remarked.
"No. It's getting late. If you're going where I think you're going, maybe you should just wait. If you do find a way to send them back, you can't do it tonight. It's passed their bedtime. You might as well wait."
"Okay, Mom," he said. He suspected that part of this reasoning was so she could spend more time with them.
They both drove home. They weren't prepared for what they saw.
Lana came running out of the house before they even got out of the vehicles. Her hair was out of place and her eyes were wide.
"Lana, are you okay?" Clark asked.
"No, I'm not okay. I tried to get Lilly to come out but she just kept screaming and then the baby woke up and I couldn't get him to stop crying. He kept saying mama, dada."
"We'll take over. Thanks for trying," Martha said.
"No, thank you for coming back. Those kids really make you wonder whether it's worth keeping the earth populated," she said.
Clark had to bite back a smile. She was serious. She took off before you could blink your eyes. She'd get over it. His kids weren't that bad, they just missed their mother. He x-rayed to check on them. They had both fallen asleep. Lilly looked sort of angelic, when she was asleep.
"Well, there goes a babysitter for tomorrow. As much as I hate to, I have to work. Senators can't just take a day off whenever they feel like it. Have you thought about Chloe?" she asked.
Chloe was perfect. She was home. She knew about strange occurrences and his powers, so she could know who the children were. She was a good friend. She'd baby sit.
TBC