A/N: This story is complete, but I'll make one more post when the first chapter of the sequel is up. Please do let me know your thoughts on the ending!

Epilogue

Jonathan put away the last of the dishes from dessert. He could still hear the TV going in the living room, but the laughter and chatter of his family had died down long ago.

Despite cancelling the garage sale, it had been a long day. There was more work than ever to do to catch up on the farm, now that they were getting to keep it, but most of it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Lex's doctor had arrived shortly after breakfast. While Lex and his doctor retreated into the privacy of the guest room, Martha had sat Clark down and talked with him about his choice to put on the red ring. Somehow her lecturing was both harsher and more loving than Jonathan's usually was. She never raised her voice, but she still kept Clark crying for several minutes while she laid into him before she switched to comforting words, and in the end he was smiling and even laughing.

They grounded him, but it wouldn't have mattered. The sheer number of extra chores to get the farm running again would be more than enough to occupy his extra time for the next month or two, so other than making sure he knew he needed to return or replace everything he'd stolen, including Chloe's class ring, they let the natural consequences stand. Martha was also great about reiterating to Clark the things that weren't his fault, so by the time they went back to their work, his demeanor was lighter than ever.

Once Lex woke up from the nap his doctor had told him to take, Jonathan and Martha sent Clark out to work on chores so they could talk with their older son. He still didn't want to talk much about the island, but he told them about his darkness taking over, about stealing from Helen and lying to her, and then about her attempts on his life. Jonathan's heart tore for his son—he couldn't imagine the pain of discovering his wife had never cared about him. Lex's breath hitched as he finished his story, and he asked to be left alone to mourn. They left him in the guest room, but they could still hear his soft sobs from out in the hallway. Martha cried for him in Jonathan's arms.

They decided against lecturing him for the things he'd done wrong, at least for the time being. Lex didn't need to be told to feel the weight of what he'd done. He'd more than paid for his crimes against Helen, and he was scared to death of the darkness. They'd need to talk quite a bit about what to do when the darkness tried to take over again—when, not if—but Jonathan didn't think it was an immediate danger. Lex had agreed to stay with them until the last of his cuts and sunburns healed or until he could eat normally without vomiting, whichever came last. That gave them at least a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks.

As exhausted as Jonathan had felt by the time they all sat down at the dinner table, it was the best exhaustion he'd felt in months. He never would have had it any other way.

They all sat around the TV watching a movie after dinner. Martha heated up one of her homemade pies, and even Lex managed a couple of bites. Jonathan offered to take their dishes when they were finished, and he left them in the living room.

After putting away the last dishes, Jonathan braced his hands against the kitchen counter. His prayers over the past few months had all been desperate pleas, but tonight he had nothing to ask for, only thanks to give. For his sons, of course, but more than anything for his wife. His amazingly beautiful, impossibly strong, ferociously compassionate wife. Without her unrelenting stubbornness, he wouldn't have his sons, either.

He went out to the living room to tell her how thankful he was for her, but soon found why he'd stopped hearing their voices.

She sat in the middle of the couch. Clark was curled up on her left side, his head laying on her lap, the way he used to fall asleep when he was eight years old. Lex sat on her right side, head resting on her shoulder, eyes closed.

Martha's eyes opened and met Jonathan's. A faint smile played with her lips as she tousled Clark's hair with her left hand and squeezed Lex's shoulder with her right.

Jonathan just stood and watched them for a moment, eyes stinging, momentarily paralyzed by his overwhelming love for all three of them.

When he'd managed to blink away his tears, he almost went over to sit on the rocking chair beside them, but decided to let his wife have her moment with the sons she had chosen. Jonathan gave her a nod and a smile, which she returned, then he started heading up to his bedroom to sleep. He could join them in the morning. They would still be there.

The End