Chapter 2: Farmer Jon

Smallville 2005

It was 5:30 am, a time Lois dreaded the most. And for that same reason, she wondered why on earth her alarm clock had the audacity to ring at this time. Oh! That's right, Martha asked if she could open up the Talon and of course she agreed. She couldn't say no to her if she tried. She lazily got out of bed and put on her bunny slippers that lay at her bedside all while snuggling the red and gold flannel she stole from her annoying roommate. Ruffing her own hair, she trotted to the bathroom, muttering to herself about why she would ever agree to this shift. Clark was walking up the stairs when he saw her in a groggy state and smiled secretly to himself, looking her up and down as she rolled up the sleeves to his flannel.

"You know I can hear you, Lois," he said leaning against the doorway. "It's not normal to talk to yourself."

"Whatever, Smallville." She looked up at him and noticed he already showered and was dressed, ready for the day. She figured the Kent's were too. "Up and ready before the chickens, I see. Just can't help yourself, huh farm boy?"

He sent a quick smirk and glare and said, "Just be glad I left you some hot water, Lois."

"Ever the gentleman, aren't you Clark," she said sarcastically. "Look, don't you have some girlfriend to annoy?" She slammed the bathroom door and Clark heard an exasperated huff come from the inside and he knew his morning was complete.

With a smirk and a headshake, he walked into their bedroom and went to their closet to pick out his blue and white flannel. When Lois first moved in, he grimaced at her clothes lined up next to his but now, he didn't mind, he had grown accustomed to it. After taking his flannel, he rolled his eyes at the state of the room. How a daughter of a 5-star general could keep a room this messy was beyond his imagination. He wanted to drag her out the bathroom and force her to clean up but knew she would only laugh in his face and walk off, insisting that she would when she felt like it. He then wanted to clean up himself but knew she would just make a mess again by simply picking out her outfit. He finally decided that making the bed and leaving the room as is was the only option. After doing such, he made his way downstairs, hearing Lois loudly singing Whitesnake as she did every morning. He smiled to himself, sat down on the kitchen table and started his breakfast.

"What are you so happy about?," Jonathan asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Oh.. uh nothing," Clark frowned at the question. It's not that he wasn't happy, he was actually. Messing with Lois was something he looked forward to every morning. Most of the time, she was still too tired to actually one up him. It made his days a bit more playful, which was what he needed since Jor-el's declaration.

Trying to rid his mind of his current predicament, he quickly changed the subject. "Actually, I'll be taking Lois to work today then I'll spend the day with Lana, you know, once I finish up the rest of the chores."

"Okay, sweetheart, but I thought Lois went to the mechanic two days ago regarding her car. Tim hasn't fixed it yet?" Martha said as she poured Clark another cup of orange juice.

"Tim's got it figured out, he's just waiting for the parts to come in. It'll be done by Tuesday so until then, I am the ever-devoted chauffeur of Lois Lane," he said sarcastically, oblivious to the look on Martha's face. Somehow, she knew deep down he didn't mind driving Lois all that much.

"Well, at least I know I make your life more interesting," Lois said as she made her way down the stairs and stole the rest of Clarks breakfast. She picked up some more sausage and eggs, made a fruit bowl and said her morning greetings to the older couple. "Now, chop chop Smallville. Coffee is not going to serve itself." With that, Clark rolled his eyes, grabbed the coffee he made for her and followed Lois out the back door to his truck.

"Those two are something, aren't they sweetheart?" he said with a sly grin.

"Oh, hush you," she said, slapping him with the kitchen towel. "I need to start on these muffins for the bake sale, why don't you make yourself busy."

He laughed, pecked his wife on the cheek and made his way to the outer fields.

Later in the day, out in the barn, Lara was about to flip the page, unaware of the light that surrounded them, now dimming into nothingness. That was when Caleb heard a dog barking in the distance. Though his super hearing was just kicking in, with the little training he received from his dad, he was able to hold his own. He heard the bark again and noticed something strange.

"Hey, Lara. Do you hear that?"

She stared at her brother in confusion until the dog started barking again. This time, the sound was closer than before. He closed the book while Lara placed the mysterious ring down by the box. They made their way down to the barn and found a dog barking at the entrance.

"Oh my gosh! Where did he come from?!" Lara immediately ran and started to pet him, smiling and giggling as the dog licked her face. "Hey boy!"

"I don't know but he looks like Shelby."

"Shelby? But mommy said he died a long time ago. This can't be him."

"Come on, let's go inside and ask them."

They exited the barn and walked towards the house. The farm seemed different than what they were used to. There were more animals and the tractor was out in the field instead of in the back of the barn like usual. But they ignored it and walked towards the steps.

"Sit boy," Lara commanded, kneeling down next to the dog. "Mommy's allergic to dogs so we have to be as good as possible if we're gonna keep you."

Before Caleb could open the door, Martha stepped outside and stopped at the sight of two children.

"Grandma!" Caleb ran and jumped onto their grandmother, hugging her passionately.

Martha was in the kitchen laying out her muffins to cool down when she heard tiny voices coming from outside. Wanting to put her curiosity to rest, she cleaned her hands, walked to the front door, and was shocked at what she saw.

"Oh!" was all Martha managed to say as the little boy rushed into her arms, grabbing her tight, nesting his face on her stomach. When he lifted his face and shined a familiar smile that melted her heart, she felt weak in the knees. That's impossible, she thought. But the boy that held onto her looked just like… "Clark?"

"Grandma," he whined. "You do this all the time, the joke's getting old."

Martha was shocked. The little boy looked just as her son did when he was in the 2nd grade. If she knew any better, she would've thought Jor-El was playing tricks on her.

"Um. I'm sorry sweetie, but I'm not sure who you are. Are your parents with you?"

Caleb looked at her with a confused expression but decided to ignore her statement for now. . "Um, they should be inside. They said they were gonna get started on dinner before you got home. When did you get here?"

"Wha- what do you mean when I-"

"Grandma! I missed you so much. Did you bring us any presents?" Lara rushed into her grandmother's arms and squeezed her tight. But when she looked up, expecting to see her excitement returned, she noticed Martha wasn't as excited as her but was confused. "Grandma, are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Martha was stunned as she looked at the small girl. For some reason, she looked familiar. She couldn't put her finger on where she'd seen the familiar face but she was certain she reminded her of someone. As she looked at both of them intently, the familiarity warmed her heart and she couldn't help but be empathetic towards them. There must be some reason why they think I'm their Grandmother.

"You said your parents are inside?"

"Yeah, you didn't see them?" Caleb replied, still confused.

"How about you two come inside and we'll figure out the rest, is that okay?" They agreed and followed her in. They expected to see their parents as soon as they walked in but they found the kitchen empty.

"Daddy?!" Lara yelled up the stairs. "Mommy! Where are they? I'm starting to get hungry."

"Why don't you two go sit down, I'll bring you some muffins and we'll wait until my husband comes back, okay?"

They both nodded and sat down in the living-room but Caleb felt uneasy. What husband could she be talking about?

As they sat down in the living room, he immediately noticed the change in scenery. The furniture was older and so was the television. Instead of the flat screen they had grown accustomed to, they saw a box that was showing the local news. Caleb also noticed the change in pictures. Instead of there being a picture of the two of them hugging their Grandpa Lane, there was a picture of their dad in high school with his football uniform. The picture of the two of them with their parents and their grandma at the beach was nowhere to be found, it was usually next to the picture of their grandfather.

"Somethings wrong," Caleb whispered.

"What?"

"Everything's different, Lara. Look at the pictures, we're not in them. Even the furniture, it's really old. And where are mom and dad? We weren't gone for that long, but dad's truck isn't outside anymore."

"What if they're upstairs? I'll go check." Before Lara could place her feet on the ground, Martha came in with the muffins and set them down on the table then went back to the kitchen to retrieve the two glasses of milk. Lara immediately became distracted by the aroma of her grandma's famous muffins and dug in. Caleb, however, stared back at his grandmother and noticed that she looked younger and her hair was no longer gray but a vibrant red. How is that possible? That was when fear creeped up his spine at a possible explanation, but he didn't want to admit it. He knew it was possible but only with the ring. Just as he was about to ask Lara if she happened to see any weird jewelry laying around, Martha came back in with their milk.

"So, where was the last place you two saw your parents?"

"Here. They were in the kitchen making lunch when they excused us to go play in the barn." When her eyebrow furrowed, he decided not to confuse her further. He knew what the problem was, at least he thought he knew, but he didn't know how to explain it. It was then he remembered a comment his grandmother made and decided to follow through, because he knew that a certain answer to this question would give him confirmation to his suspicions. "Grandma, you mentioned your husband would be coming home soon?", she nodded. He took a deep breath and continued. "What's his name?" She opened her mouth to answer when they heard the backdoor open.

"Hey honey, I think I'm ready for that lemonade break now."

At his voice, two hearts froze. They recognized his voice immediately from the home videos they watched with their parents. They heard heavy footsteps as he made his way to where they were sitting, and it felt too real to be true. When they turned around, they saw their Grandpa Jonathan in his faded brown and yellow flannel, his tousled blonde hair, all sweaty from a half day's work on the farm. They stood up slowly, both in awe at the man that was larger than life.

Jonathan stepped into the living room looking for his wife and was met with two shocked children. "Well what do we have here?" He looked between them and Martha, then back again, wondering what the hell was going on. Immediately, he picked up on the resemblance the little boy had to Clark when he was little, everything was the same, except his eyes. Those eyes were familiar to him, but for some reason, he couldn't place where he knew them from. He looked up again at Martha.

Before she could say anything, Lara dropped her muffin and ran straight into his legs. "Grandpa?! You're here, how- hey!" Caleb yanked his sister back, afraid of whatever was going to come out of her mouth. This confirmed his suspicions, Lara and himself had found themselves in the past.

"Martha, care to explain what's going on?"

"Honey, I think it's best if you sit down." He sat down in his chair, opposite the two children staring at him with familiar eyes. Martha explained how they showed up at the farm, claiming that she's their grandma and that their parents should've been inside the house. With her nonverbal tells, he understood her suspicions as they became his own. He just hoped that this whole thing wasn't a fluke.

Jonathan took another moment to examine the two of them. They stared at him with so much awe and wonder that he felt like a god. He couldn't deny the similarities between the young boy that sat in front of him and his own son, the resemblance was uncanny. But his eyes, he couldn't understand why the warmth in his eyes looked somewhat familiar. And the little girl, her adorable smile could light up a room. He felt he should've been able to recognize that face anywhere and it irked him that he couldn't. But her aquamarine eyes bore into his soul, the same way Clarks did.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

She yanked her arm from her brother's grip and jumped on the arm of Jonathan's recliner, getting as comfy as possible. "I'm Lara Lilly Kent"

"Kent?" Jonathan said in disbelief. "And what about you, son?".

"I'm Caleb."

"Caleb Jonathan, just like you grandpa!"

"Your parents named you Jonathan?"

Lara nodded enthusiastically, scooting closer to Jonathan. "Our cousin is named after you too."

"And your dad is-"

"Clark Kent," Caleb answered.

"Oh my- Jonathan, how is this possible?"

"Are you trying to tell me that you're Clark's children, my grandkids?" They both nodded. Jonathan got up and started pacing the room. It was evident that the situation was starting to cause him stress. He stopped abruptly. "Caleb, what year were you born in?"

"2015 and Lara was born in 2017." The Kent's froze in place. Their eyes widened, and Martha's jaw dropped in disbelief

"So, you're from the future? How did you get here? How is this possible?"

"Jonathan, maybe we should just calm down and wait for Clark to come home before we ask any more questions."

"How can we be calm right now? Our grandchildren are standing in this room with us right now and we both know that shouldn't be possible."

"We have no other option but to remain calm," she soothed him. "Maybe Jor-el did this."

"And what reason does he have to send our grandkids back in time? Unless it's just some sick, twisted test of his."

"I don't think he sent us back," he interrupted quietly.

"What do you mean, son?"

"Do you think we can talk about this when our dad gets back? He should be able to help."

"Of course, sweetie," Martha said. "Why don't I make us all some sandwiches, while you and Lara go wash up. I assume you know where the bathroom is?"

They both nodded and excused themselves. Jonathan followed Martha into the kitchen, thoughts running through his head.

"I don't know what to make of this Martha. I know we've dealt with a lot of weird stuff in this town, but this is way above our expertise."

"Which is why I agree with what Caleb suggested. Let's just drop the matter until Clark comes home. We should focus on making them feel at home, I can't imagine how scared they are."

"Well, Lara doesn't seem scared at all," he chuckled. "But Caleb, I know a worried face when I see one."

"I guess he's like Clark in many ways."

"So, what do we do now?"

"About what?"

"Do we ask them about their mother?"