A/N: Just a little snippet missing from "A Lesson in Respect." For context, after mistreating Jon for the X-K scandal, Clark and Lois sent him to stay with Grandpa Sam, who dropped the drill sergeant routine the second Jon started crying (the big softie) and offered to take him out for burgers.
From "A Lesson in Respect":
Once they were at the diner, Jon could've sworn that his granddad transformed into a different person. Seemed like everyone there knew him, and he proudly introduced Jon to everybody as his grandson. After that, he raved about menu items, and every few minutes, someone came over to say hi. It might have been awkward, but after the total isolation at Granddad's cabin and even at home, it was like a breath of fresh air to have one person after another greet him with a huge smile and kind words, even if most of them were his grandpa's age.
A Lesson in Kindness
Jon wasn't expecting the burst of cheers when he and Granddad walked into the diner.
He took a step back, startled, and did another double take when his grandpa threw up his arms and embraced the host, winked at the lady bartender, and waved and greeted a couple of men sitting at the bar with a loud, "How you been?"
Jon took another step back, not sure what to make of it. It had been startling enough to watch General Samuel Lane, drill sergeant, transform into Grandpa Sam—still a little stiff, definitely strict, but ultimately loving and caring. It was even weirder to see him transform into the kind of man who would be the life of a party.
"Jon? Hey, come here." Granddad held an arm out, beckoning Jon closer, and Jon stepped to his side. Granddad clapped a hand to his back and looked to the host. "Table for my grandson and me, Dave. One of those nice soft booths for my old back."
"Grandson, eh?" The host smiled. "Shoulda known. Looks just like you when you were his age."
"Hey, don't tell him that!" a guy from the bar yelled. "You'll scare the poor kid!"
"Ah, stuff it, Bill, he'd be lucky to look like me at my age. Your grandchildren are the ones who have to worry."
The other guy at the bar burst out laughing, along with the host. Granddad just winked at Jon, who caught himself smiling despite the fact that his head was spinning.
His granddad sat down at the booth, and Jon slid gingerly into the seat across from him, though his legs didn't protest. He tried to look at the menu, but his eyes glazed over.
"Ribs here are killer if Larry's at the grill," his grandpa told him, "but the burgers never fail, doesn't matter who's cooking. What're you hungry for?"
"Uh, yeah, burger sounds good."
"Can't go wrong. They toast this garlic sauce into the buns, and—"
"Samuel!" The bartender had approached the table. "You never told me your grandson was so handsome!"
"Ah, well. Planned on bringing him up here sooner or later so you could see for yourself."
"Where's the other one? Didn't Lois have twins?"
Jon clenched his teeth, worried about what his grandpa would say, but Granddad just told her, "Busy this weekend. This is a special weekend for us, just me and Jon. Hoping to have both boys up here soon."
"You'd better! Look at him, poor thing's half starved to death! Is your brother as skinny as you are?"
"Eh, they eat enough. Should see his momma's grocery bills."
The bartender looked right at Jon. "Don't let your old grandpa give you a hard time, you hear? He's all bark, no bite."
"Don't be putting ideas in his head, Deb."
She just laughed and walked off.
Jon didn't even have time to process the conversation before the waiter approached. "What'll it be? Usual?"
"Yeah," Granddad said. "For me and my grandson here."
"You got it," the waiter said.
"Uh, what's the usual?" Jon asked.
"Bacon cheeseburger with fries," the waiter said.
"Yeah, sounds great to me," Jon said.
"Jon'll have a shake, too," Granddad said. "Chocolate, right?"
"Yes, sir." Jon handed the menu to the waiter, who walked off.
"Good service, here," his grandpa said. "Though I haven't been in, in a few weeks."
"They seem really friendly." Jon meant it, but he felt numb as he said it. Something about the whole experience was overwhelming him, but he was having a hard time putting his finger on it.
"Oh, yeah. Ah, I remember one time—"
"Well, they just let anyone in here, don't they?" A man with a thick handlebar mustache had approached the table.
"Gary!" Sam shook the man's hand. "Good to see you. I'd like you to meet my grandson, Jonathan."
"Jonathan." The man held out his hand to Jon, who shook it. "That's a nice firm grip you got there, son. Who taught you that, your dad?"
"Uh. Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir. Taught you some respect, too. Bet he's real proud of you."
Jon felt like he'd just been punched in the gut.
"He's a good kid," Granddad said before Jon could respond. "Hell of a hard worker. And you should see him on the football field."
Jon's eyes prickled, and he missed the rest of the conversation. He almost didn't make it until Gary was gone before he said, "Excuse me," and left the table.
He darted for the bathrooms, which were up close to the entrance, and he barely made it into the stall before the floodgates broke.
For the second time that day, Jon sobbed into his hands.
None of these people knew who Jon really was, or what he'd done. If they did, they wouldn't be talking and laughing and joking. They might not even want him in the restaurant.
When this was over, he was going to have to go back to his parents. A dad who hated him, a mom who'd given up on him. That was what he really deserved. That was where he belonged.
He pressed his fingers into the backs of his legs until he could feel the pain again. It hurt, but it helped him to stop crying. He couldn't get caught up in the emotion of today. This wasn't who he was.
He didn't know how long he hid there before there was a knock on the door. "Jonathan."
"Leave me alone."
"Why don't you come on out, son?"
"I don't want . . . I can't . . . I'm not . . ." Jon wrapped his arms around himself.
"Please, Jon. Come on out."
"Please, just . . . leave me here."
"I know it's hard, kiddo."
He shook his head, even though Granddad couldn't see him. "You don't know."
A long pause, then, "Your folks haven't been real good to you, Jonathan. Getting kindness again, it's . . . it's not easy."
Jon blinked a couple of times. He hadn't been expecting his granddad to actually understand why he was having a hard time. Slowly, he unlocked the door and stepped out.
Granddad immediately pulled him into his arms. Jon remained stiff, and his eyes went straight to the door—he'd die if anyone walked in.
"Relax. I locked it. It's just us."
Jon's chin trembled, and he collapsed into his grandpa's arms.
Granddad gave him a tighter squeeze before patting his back and letting go. "Those people out there? Those are friends of mine. Some of them, I've known since I was a little older than you."
"Wow." Jon wasn't sure how that was supposed to help, but then his granddad went on.
"Yeah. They've seen me at my best and worst. They see you, and they see a little piece of me. They don't care if you've messed up. Hell, they've seen me do worse. A lot worse."
Jon's eyes widened. "What did you do?"
He smirked. "Tell you when you're older. Point is, by the time you're our age, no one'll even remember what you did when you were fifteen. And those guys out there, even if they knew what you did, they're not gonna care about that. They've been wanting to meet you 'cause you're my grandson. That's all they see."
Jon nodded, feeling his eyes begin to sting again. He wiped at his eyes.
His granddad tousled his hair. "Hey, food'll be coming any second. Ready to go back?"
"Yes sir," Jon said, but as his granddad turned toward the door, he shook his head. "Wait. Granddad."
"Yeah?"
"I can come back and visit you, right?" It would be so much easier to face everything at home if he could know that, every once in a while, there was kindness waiting for him.
Concern filled his grandpa's eyes. "Son, if you want to stay here for the whole five weeks, or longer, I'm not gonna force you to go back."
Jon considered it. It was really, really tempting. But . . . "I don't want to be away from Jordan that long."
"Okay. You're welcome back any time you want. If your parents won't drive you, I'll come get you. You just call me."
Jon nodded, wiping his eyes one last time, and he followed his granddad back to the table.