Hey, guys!
This chapter took a bit longer than I wanted it to, but I was finally able to finish it! I hope y'all enjoy!
Chapter Four
Clark watched Jon that night while Lois and Jordan slept.
Jon slept peacefully for the most part. Every once in a while, a nurse would walk in to check on him, but everything was fine.
Clark tried to relax, but he couldn't. He could hear every one of Jon's strained breaths, he could see the pain etched onto Jon's face. It was because of him. Because he hadn't been able to save his son in time.
If he had just listened sooner, if he had been more worried… Jon never would have ended up in the hospital. He wouldn't be so hurt.
"Hey there, Sleepyhead," Clark said as Jon opened his eyes for the first time since Clark had arrived at the hospital.
Jon didn't even look at Clark though, instead he seemed to be focused on the ceiling tiles.
"Jon?" he asked.
Jon let out a shuddering breath through pursed lips, then spoke softly. "Hi." His voice was raspy and rough, but that one word was enough to relieve some of Clark's worries.
"How are you feeling?" Clark asked.
"Numb," Jon answered.
Clark nodded. "That's good," he said.
It was. The less Jon felt, the better. He had seen the awful things those boys had done to him, Lois had told him about the stitches. And if he was being honest, he had listened in on Jon's care before he was at the hospital.
It had been brutal. The doctors hadn't been sure Jon would make it when he had dropped him off. Clark wasn't sure what they thought right now.
But Jon was awake now. He was alive.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Clark asked.
Jon shook his head.
Clark sighed. He knew it was a long shot. It hadn't been that long since the attack had happened, but he was hoping to get some of the story out of his son before the police questioned him.
"The more we know, the more we'll be able to help in the long run, Jon," he said.
Jon shook his head again. "I don't wanna talk about it."
Clark nodded. "Okay," he said softly. "We don't have to talk about it right now then."
Jon shifted slightly in his bed, then looked around for a moment. He still didn't make eye contact with Clark. Instead, his eyes went to the thin white blankets on the bed.
Clark cleared his throat. There were a lot of questions that needed to be asked. The details of the attack were only one of them. In fact, there was something that Clark wanted to know even more.
"Jon, why didn't you use your ELT?"
Jon glanced over at him, then back down at his blankets. He picked at the tape holding his IV in his hand. "You took it away."
Clark frowned. "No I didn't," he denied, but as soon as the words came out, he remembered.
He had taken away Jon's backpack and only given Jon back what was absolutely necessary. The ELT had always been carried in that backpack.
"There was no reason for you to have it, Jon," Clark said. The guilt was back, but Clark tried to ignore it. It burned in his stomach. "You weren't going anywhere but the store and you were always in someone's sight."
"Until I wasn't," Jon said, then inhaled. "We attract bad guys, Dad. What if it had been something like your creepy other self or like Edge? Mr. Olowe can't save me from that."
"I can hear you if you call out for me," Clark said. There were so many other ways Jon could have gotten Clark's attention, but he hadn't even tried. "Why didn't you do that? You might not have had the ELT, but you could have shouted."
Jon winced, then continued to pull on the tape on his hand.
When Jon stayed quiet, Clark frowned. He reached forward and placed his hand on Jon's arm.
Jon reacted like Clark's touch was acid, like it was kryptonite. He pulled away instantly.
"Don't touch me."
Jon's words were like a punch to the gut, and Clark's chest squeezed in pain at them.
Jon had never, ever refused comfort. In fact, he had always seemed to crave it. He had always come to Clark if he needed a hug or anything like that.
Now it wasn't that way. He didn't even want Clark to touch him.
The thought of that crushed Clark's heart.
Clark opened his mouth to speak, to ask if he was okay, but the door opened.
"Hey, baby!" Lois greeted as she shut the door behind her. She walked right over to Jon and cupped his cheeks.
Jon leaned into the touch. "Hi."
"How are you feeling?" Lois asked. "Did you have a good nap?"
Jon stayed silent for a moment. "I guess…" he said.
Lois's gaze softened and she stroked his hair. "Baby, when was the last time you had pain meds?" She asked.
Jon shrugged, then gasped in pain at the movement. The sound made Clark's stomach twist. "Dunno…" He said.
"Why haven't you had any since you've woken up?" She asked. "You're crying…"
Clark's eyes widened. Why hadn't Jon said anything? He would have helped him! He could have gotten him medication. More importantly though, why hadn't he noticed?
Jon shook his head, then looked down at his blanket again. "I didn't ask."
"Sweetie…" Lois said as she cradled his head. Once again, Jon leaned into the touch.
Lois reached down and pressed the button that alerted Jon's nurse. "We're gonna get you some meds, baby."
Clark stood up. He needed to get out of here. It was all too much.
He just wanted to give his son a hug, but he couldn't…
"I'm gonna go grab Jon something to eat," Clark said. He had to come up with some excuse. He couldn't stay in here any longer.
"Okay," Lois said.
Clark left the room and began to walk. He took a deep breath as his eyes burned with unshed tears.
His son had every right to hate him. It was all his fault. If he had just gone to check on him, if he had picked Jon up from work… But no. He had done everything wrong.
He had taken away the ELT, ignored his son, and waited for far too long.
He took another deep breath as more tears tried to overflow. He couldn't cry. He wouldn't cry.
Don't cry. Don't cry… He was Superman. He couldn't cry.
"Dad!"
Clark turned around. "Jordan?" he said. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the farm!"
"I couldn't stop listening," Jordan explained with a shrug. "When I heard that he was awake… I couldn't just stay on the farm."
Clark nodded slowly. He wasn't really sure that he wanted Jordan to see how hurt Jon was. The only reason he had brought him the night before was because they needed Jordan's blood. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to get Jordan to go home without a fight, no matter how hard he tried.
"Can I see him?" Jordan asked.
"C'mon," Clark said.
Clark led Jordan back towards Jon's hospital room, but his stomach filled with dread with every step.
He had made such a mess of things, and if Jordan found out, then it would be even worse. Jordan would hate him…
Clark stopped Jordan right outside of Jon's room.
"Hey," he started. "Jon is doing a bit better than he was when he was last up, but he's still not feeling too good, okay?"
Jordan nodded. "But he's doing better, right?"
Clark hesitated. He didn't actually know if Jon was doing any better. He just knew that he was awake. "Yeah."
Jordan reached out and opened the door. He popped his head in through the crack. "Jon?"
"Jordan?"
Clark took a deep breath at the sound of his son's voice, then followed Jordan inside.
He watched as Jordan practically ran up to Jon and started to ask him a million questions all at once. Jordan didn't seem to mind that Jon wasn't answering most of them.
"Hey," Lois said as she gently bumped her shoulder against his. "You okay?"
Clark nodded, though he knew she would see right through it. Lying to Lois was impossible, but lying to the twins wasn't. "Yeah."
Lois frowned, then looked over to the boys. "Hey, we're gonna step outside for a second," she told them. "Call us if you need anything."
After the twins nodded, Clark and Lois stepped outside. They didn't go far though, just a little further out of the twins' earshot.
Lois leaned her head against Clark's chest, and Clark wrapped his arms around her. He held her as tightly as he could.
"Did he tell you anything about what happened?" she asked.
Clark shook his head. "Nothing," he told her. "He doesn't wanna talk about it."
Lois curled closer. "I can't say I blame him…" she said.
They stood in silence for a moment, the two of them holding each other tightly.
"Clark," Lois began softly. "Smallville isn't safe for our boys."
For the second time that morning, Clark felt like he had been punched in the gut. Smallville was his home. It was where he had been raised his entire life. It was the place he loved, full of the people he loved.
"It is, Lois," Clark told her. Smallville was safe.
Lois shook her head. "This can't happen again," she said as she began to cry. "I can't lose him."
Clark pulled her in close and rested his chin on the top of her head. He couldn't swallow back the guilt anymore. This really was all his fault. If he had just taken the ELT out of that backpack and given it to Jon…
But no. He didn't. He didn't think Jon would need it. He thought that Jon would call out to him if he got in trouble. He had thought that Smallville was better than this.
But it wasn't, and he was a horrible father.
"It won't happen again," he said. Not only to her, but to himself. "I promise."
So... Now we know why Jon never used his ELT. I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading!