Clark couldn't feel any life around him. When he was fighting Marduk, there was at least the feeling of blood pumping through him and a heart beating in his chest. However, it wasn't like it was in his body. It was like he had total control over these systems, even the ones that worked on their own. Now, he couldn't feel these things anymore. It was like there was a divorce between his body and soul that he never felt before.

"Clark?" Aelora asked from behind him.

He turned around to face the woman in all her glory. Even though the light from around them certainly made her white clothing shine, there was still a glow coming off her that was different. He wanted to ask her so many things, mostly about what was happening to him. However, another question left his mouth.

"So, what are you?"

Aelora smiled and said, "I was sent to protect you Clark. I was sent to protect your heart, as well as the hearts of everyone who comes into the clutches of Marduk's congregation."

"Are you an…angel or something?"

"I am," Aelora said, causing Clark to nearly lose his footing. Even after all that had happened to him, after all that Aelora had helped him do, he was still surprised at the revelation. He had never really thought about the existence of angels before, but now that he was standing in the presence of one, a great fear rose inside him. He couldn't feel it before because he was busy battling a demon, but now that he could fully take in the beauty of this being, and he was scared. He was unworthy to be in her presence.

"Oh man," Clark said as a sob began to form in his throat. He fell to his knees and turned his face away from the friend who had helped him through all of his torture and humiliation.

"Why are you hiding from me, Clark?" she asked as she reached out a hand to him. "You've been with me all this time. You've fought a demon with me. Why are you surprised?"

"Because," Clark gulped as he continued to hide his face. "This is usually the part where you take out the flaming sword and…"

"Okay, let's stop right there," she said with the same strong voice she had used with Steven when they first met. "Where did you hear that?"

"Well…when I was a kid in Sunday school they used to tell us stories about…"

"Alright, I have to stop you again. This is why Smallville has so many problems. The churches there are horrible because they either focus on the Bad News or the Good News. You need BOTH to have a good church. I don't get why you humans either want to say everyone is horrid and unredeemable or everyone is good and hunky-dory. There is such a thing as…"

"Um…Aelora," Clark said as he finally looked at her. "You're venting. I don't think you realize it."

Aelora laughed and covered the blush that was coming to her face. "I'm sorry. What we're supposed to do is get humans to say these things for us, but not many listen to us, so we get a little frustrated sometimes."

"I see," Clark laughed as he finally felt at ease with this supernatural being. He got up from his knees and said, "But I have a question. Why didn't you just fly us out of the church if you were an angel?"

"I don't 'fly' when people are able to see me. My battle is with the unseen world, not with the physical. That's someone else's job."

"I'm guessing you're talking about God, right?"

"Yes, or as I like to call Him, the Agape Love that will one day save world."

"Yeah…okay. But why didn't He fly us out?"

"He did."

"What do you MEAN He did?" Clark said firmly as he finally made firm eye contact with the angel. "I was tortured for…I don't know how long, but I know it was for a long time. If He flew us out, I would be at home in my parents' arms right now."

"You're in a hospital now and your parents are fine. Your mom called for help."

"But if I had gotten out earlier, I would not be dealing with all this crap right now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Why didn't He get us out earlier?"

Aelora let out a frustrated sigh, as if she had heard this too many times. "Did you ask Him?"

"Well…no, but just because I don't ask doesn't mean that…"

"You just assume that you deserve to leave without even thinking that it might just take you to destroy the enemy so this never happens again to anybody else."

"I didn't think of that at first, but why didn't the guy who went through this before me do it? Why should I be the one to defeat Marduk?"

"Because you are! Clark, you have to understand that there is a reason for everything."

Clark sighed and put his fingers to his forehead before saying, "That's what everyone says after something horrible happens. It just seems too simple."

"That's why it's true," Aelora said as she looked to a clearly frustrated Clark. "You will understand someday, but right now you just have to trust me and Him so that you can get out of this. I'm guessing you want to know why you feel so segregated from your body."

"I'm not sure if I want to know," Clark said as he shrugged, not at all surprised that she knew what his predicament was.

"I really think that you should, Clark. You felt such pain earlier because there was a demon inside of you who has been trying to wreck havoc on your soul for years. His name was Destruction."

"I guess his job is obvious," Clark said, in fear of where this conversation was going. "Why was he embedded inside me? Don't you go all crazy when you have a demon possessing you?"

Aelora laughed before saying, "True possession only happens if the vessel lets it happen. An average person can have multiple demons latched onto them and feel completely normal. The only thing that is different is that sinful urges are multiplied because of their suggestion. It's the person's will that determines how powerful each demon is in their decision-making. Destruction was the one whispering in your ear in high school to follow the will of your biological father and fulfill his destiny for you. It was many of my colleagues who were whispering in your other ear not to listen to him. Thankfully, you listened to the good guys."

"Wow," Clark said softly as he tried to take in the fact that all of the psychology lessons about the Id and the Superego had a spiritual foundation.

"When demons escape from a threshold in which they can no longer do anything, they exit through a certain object so that damage is done to it. It tricks their master into thinking that their mission was successful. The use of power can make it look like they succeeded at something and at least attempted to complete their mission. This can lessen the punishment they receive from their master when they return to hell. They choose a point to exit and do a quick swipe wherever they can. In the Word, there was a case where Jesus was going to drive a Legion of demons out of a man, but they begged Jesus to let them exit through something. In that case, Jesus let them exit through pigs because of his compassion for the demons. Those pigs ended up going insane and jumping over a cliff."

"Woah, that's really...interesting. I didn't know about that story."

"Well, your culture tends not to mention the stories in the Bible where Jesus shows his Godly authority. Now, in cases in modern day, this 'Exit Event,' as some call it, can show itself in a power surge or a falling lamp. There are other cases, however, there can be problems inflicted upon a human. In your case…" Aelora paused as she prepared to give the news. "…he gave you brain damage."

"What?" Clark said, frantic. "How could he do that?"

"Calm down, Clark. Whenever a demon inflicts physical harm, a full recovery is always possible. However, you can choose the option of leaving this body and…"

"…dying? Is that what you want me to do?"

"Yes, that's the technical term. But it's really not death. It's a perfect existence."

"I have no doubt about that," Clark sighed. "But my parents would die without me. I have to stay so that they will be okay. I can't leave them yet, especially after all that they have been through. It would push them over the edge."

"I know," Aelora replied. "And I don't think you should die."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"I want to be fair and give you all of your options. You might choose to die, or you might not. It's your decision. As was told to you before, only you can choose how much your flesh controls you. You don't have to let a coma…"

"Wait!" Clark shouted out of suddenly. "I hear something from the outside. I haven't heard anything in a while. Do you think I could be waking up?"

Aelora sighed after trying to discern what Clark was hearing. "I think it might be one of your parents. When a parent or a spouse talks to someone in your current state, they can usually be heard through the spirit because of the connection they share."

"Oh," Clark said, a little disappointed that he probably wasn't recovering. "So I guess I wouldn't be able to hear any of my friends if they came in."

"I'm afraid not, but why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Clark sad as he tuned the ears of his spirit toward listening to the outside world.

xXxXxXx

Martha tiptoed into the tiny room in which her son lay motionless in the small hospital bed. She pulled a chair over from the corner of the room and dragged it to the side of the bed. As if treating her body like a crystal statue, she slipped into the chair and laid her eyes upon her unconscious beloved.

"Clark," she said softly as she took his hand, careful not to disturb the IV embedded in his vein. "I hope you can hear me. Heh. Who am I kidding? You probably can't."

xXxXxXx

Clark looked to Aelora with a smile on his face. "I can hear her. It's my mom, Aelora! I can hear her!"

Aelora nodded confidently after she herself heard the voice of the mother.

"Boy, will she be surprised when I wake up," Clark laughed as he continued to listen.

xXxXxXx

"I hope that you know that I love you more than anything in the world. I know that I've told you that a million times, but sometimes the more you say it, the more empty it sounds. I hope that it doesn't this time. Now Clark, I know you're going to wake up. You are. You're going to come back to me. I have no doubt." Martha began to notice that she sounded like she was trying to convince herself of the possibility. She decided to stop talking about comas and start talking about something different, but just as important.

"Clark…I…I have something to confess to you. I remember when you were about six years old and you overheard me and your father having a fight. You started crying because you were afraid Daddy and I would get a divorce. I heard you and picked you up in my arms. I promised you that I would never hate your father and that we would always love each other no matter what." Martha paused as she took a deep breath and gripped her son's still hand harder. "I think that I broke that promise."

xXxXxXx

"No," Clark uttered as fear began to grow inside of him.

xXxXxXx

"I just…I hate your father so much right now. For what he did to you…for what he did to me…I mean I know it's not his fault. But, he could have fought harder! I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. I don't know how not to."

xXxXxXx

"It appears that Destruction didn't leave completely after all," Aelora sighed as she put a hand on Clark's shoulder.

"Aelora," Clark said as he turned his head to face her. "My parents aren't going to…divorce, are they?"

Aelora closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know, honey. I can't tell the future. No one can but God."

"Then how will I know whether I should stay or not?"

"Does it make a difference?"

xXxXxXx

"Normally, I would be elated right now. I mean, fear and uncertainty would probably be there, too, but happiness would outweigh all of that."

xXxXxXx

"What's she talking about, Aelora?"

"Just listen, Clark."

xXxXxXx

"You see, the doctor ran some routine blood tests on me earlier while he was examining me. Anyway, the tests inadvertently made an interesting discovery. I'm…pregnant, Clark."

xXxXxXx

"Pregnant?"

Clark knew that if he and his body were one right now, he would have fainted. After all of the horrible things that had happened to them in the past few days, there was still an amazing miracle in the works.

"Wow, that even surprised me," Aelora laughed as she slid her fingers through her hair.

"But how…how did that baby survive…everything?"

Aelora looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "Honestly, Clark. If you don't know by now than you really are naïve."

xXxXxXx

"I don't know if I can be happy about it, though. I mean, I know that your father didn't mean to…oh look at me. I'm repeating myself. It's just that, I don't know what to do. I don't know if I can have a baby with that man. Not now. I don't know if I should subject a living thing to this…horror that our lives have all become."

xXxXxXx

"She sounds frightened. Aelora, why is she so scared? She wasn't with the first pregnancy."

"Why do you think she's scared, Clark?"

"Well, she might be worried that she'll miscarry again…" His eyes began to widen as more possibilities flowed into his mind. "She might be worried that if the baby dies this time, than this…whole ordeal could happen again. She could also be concerned about being forced to stay with dad because of their connection to this child." Clark sighed before saying "I'm not liking this situation as much as I thought I would. I don't think pregnancy and this kind of fear are a very good combination."

"It never is," Aelora interjected.

"Maybe…maybe I should just go. Then that would compel her to keep the baby."

Aelora immediately widened her eyes before running over and grabbing Clark's shoulders. "Clark! I know I'm supposed to be supportive, but that's a stupid idea."

"I thought it was supposed to be my decision."

"I know, but you shouldn't choose to die just to prevent something that imight/i happen. You know your mother. Would she really have an abortion if you live? Would she definitely not have an abortion if you died?"

"Aelora, Mom is not in a good state of mind right now. She might keep the baby just to have another child."

"But she'll still hate your father!"

Clark was silenced as he hung his head put his face in his hand.

"Besides, she will lose a child either way if you die. At least if you live, you can help her through this. Please Clark, choose to fight."

"Why should I," Clark said as his voice began to break. "I know in heaven I won't have to deal with this…pain."

xXxXxXx

Martha jumped at the sound of one of her son's monitors spiking. She looked up to the heart monitor and saw that there was a slight dip in his heart rate. The mother allowed her adrenaline to go down as she accepted the beep as normal. Of course, the scare was too much for her fragile heart to handle, she simply lay her head down on her son's skin and began to weep.

xXxXxXx

Clark heard his mother crying and felt the water from her tears on his wrist. He lifted his wrist to his cheek and slowly stroked it across. However, no water came onto his cheek. The sensation only stayed on his wrist when his mother's soft skin lay as well.

"Mom! Stop crying please! Don't cry! I don't want you to be this sad. You can't give up on dad now!"

Clark fell on his knees and closed his eyes so that he could get the image of his mother in his mind. He tried to somehow attach to his eyes so that they could open, but there was no luck. It wouldn't work properly and Clark was getting frustrated. He then buried his face in his hands and caressed the wetness of his hand that continued to grow. All he wanted was to truly be able to physically feel his mother's tears so that he could comfort her. He didn't know what it was, but there is something in a child's heart that pains when he hears his mother crying. This part was very evident in Clark because he had heard Martha cry more times than he could count. Something inside Clark was dying at the sound of the familiar sobs.

"Aelora," Clark called to his companion of the past several days. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to do this. I haven't been making any progress. I feel like this is too hard. How am I going to recover from this? Even if I do, my life is never going to be the same!"

"That's why you don't want to go on. You think it will be hard? You think that it will make your already difficult life even harder"

A denial was on the tip of Clark's tongue, but he felt that lying to an angel was not a wise choice. "What are you, a witch?"

You're thoughts aren't a secret in here, Clark. You have to remember that it was caused by demonic intervention, so it's very possible to make a full recovery," Aelora said.

"I know," Clark said. "You've told me, but I think that whatever he did was too strong. I can't do it by myself."

Aelora sighed and looked up, as if for divine guidance from her Master. She then sighed once more and looked down at her friend.

"I was told not to tell you this, but I have been given permission. You can't do it by yourself. No one can."

"What?"

"It's not you who's going to get out of this coma. It is only you who decides to stick it out. The One who will release you from the coma is God."

"God? Great. Am I going to have to wait as long as I did to get out of the clutches Reverend Eval Kineaval?"

"Now Clark. What kind of attitude is that?"

"A realistic one," Clark said with a healthy amount of contempt.

Aelora shook her head and looked at him. "Clark, you're mad at God, I know. However, I hope that you can understand that it was God who saved you from Marduk, not you. God allowed you to have the power to defeat him once you put your faith in Him. You've forgotten that, which I've seen happen before. It only leads to the path to darkness."

"I believe in God, though. I'm not that naïve."

"Marduk does, too. He also knows the entire Word by heart."

"He…oh. That's true isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Simply believing in the existence of God is not good enough.

"Then…what do you have to do?" Clark asked, with a slightly frightened tone.

"Nothing. You can't do anything on your own. Well, you can ask Him for help in that situation. His disciples can also tell you about it a lot easier since they can actually experience the feeling of salvation. Angels simply tell things that are not obvious on earth."

Clark looked at her with large eyes as he put his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm not mad at God. I'm just…mad. I can't shake it. I just…I hate that this might destroy my family. I hate that this might destroy me. What if I never recover from being blind? What if I have permanent emotional damage or something? How can I have patience when my heart is breaking by hearing my mom cry? Heck, what if my dad comes in here. He's going to feel guilty if he finally gets the guts to look at me. I'm going to want to comfort him and …"

Clark then felt a tiny twitch in his pinkie that made him stop short. He looked at his hand in awe that he felt his first sensation from his own brain in a while.

"Clark," Aelora cooed. "You have to make a conscious decision to stay and fight to live so that your family and the world will not suffer in your absence. That's a very selfless choice, and it's that attitude for other's that will help make this fight go smoother, even if you lose."

Clark smiled and continued to move his pinkie around until he felt more sensations from inside his actual digit. He smiled even more as he continued to feel the sensations, yet, this time, his mother's touch was included.

"I'll do it."

xXxXxXx

Martha's head sprung up as she stared at her son's heavily bandaged hand. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up in her chair. Did she just feel…?

She heard the table behind her shake a little bit. Startled, she whipped her head around to look behind her.

"Jonathan," Martha uttered, suddenly feeling her heart race. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," Jonathan said behind wet eyes and a lump in his throat. "I think we have to talk."