Hey, guys!
Sorry it's been so long. I got a little stumped in a couple of places, but we're back on track!
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter Seven
Jon was downstairs watching the football game with his dad when Grandpa Sam's truck pulled into the driveway.
Clark tilted his head at the sound the way he always did when using his super hearing, and Jon didn't tell him that the gravel in the driveway was so loud that he could hear it too.
"Your Grandpa's here," Clark said. "Do you wanna go out on the porch and greet him?"
Jon hesitated. His meds had kicked in a bit, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to get up and walk… It sounded like too much work, if he was being honest. He didn't want to move that much.
"Can I just stay here?" he asked.
Clark nodded. "Yeah," he replied as he got up. "I'll go let him in."
Jon smiled, then curled further into the couch bed that his dad had made for him. "Thanks."
Once his dad walked away, another spike of adrenaline coursed through Jon's viens.
He really wasn't sure why he was this nervous to see his grandpa. During his visits, Grandpa Sam was normally pretty fun and laid back. Their relationship had always come easy, but how much of that would change now that Jon had done drugs? Would he be lectured again?
Jon tried to focus on the game that was playing in the background, but he couldn't. He didn't want his grandpa to be mad at him…
"Hey, Sport."
Jon lifted his head at the sound of his grandpa's voice. "Hey, Grandpa."
Grandpa Sam walked over, then sat on the edge of the sofa where Clark had been sitting just a few minutes ago. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay," Jon said.
Grandpa Sam raised his eyebrows. "In what universe?"
Jon looked back down at his hands. He hadn't expected Grandpa Sam to catch the lie, but he had. He felt his cheeks warm up at the thought of it.
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, then Grandpa Sam tried again.
"So, how is the game going?"
Jon looked over at the TV. The game he and his dad had been watching had gone to halftime and he had completely lost track of the score.
Jon held back a shrug. He didn't know the score, but he remembered some of the really good plays. "I sorta lost track of it…"
Grandpa Sam nodded, and Jon thought he almost looked sympathetic. He wondered if it was from losing track of the game or his many injuries. "It's okay."
Finally, Jon couldn't keep it in any longer. He was tired of this awkward gap between him and his grandpa and he wanted to know the truth.
"Are you mad at me because of the X-K?" He asked.
Grandpa Sam inhaled deeply, and Jon regretted ever opening his big mouth. He was such an idiot. If there hadn't been anything wrong between him and his grandpa, there would be now.
"Just forget it…" Jon said quickly, hoping to salvage what he could from his mistake. "Just forget I said anything."
Grandpa Sam reached over and placed his hand on Jon's arm. "I don't know what your folks told you, but I didn't come here to yell at you for being caught with drugs," he told him.
Jon's breath caught in his throat. Admittedly, no one had explicitly told him that his grandpa was coming to punish him for the drugs, but the fact that he wasn't… It was a relief. Everyone had wanted to say something to him about the X-K, even people he hardly knew.
"Really?"
Grandpa Sam nodded. "Really," he assured. "I came here to check up on you. You gave us all quite a fright last week, kiddo."
Jon shuddered at the memory. The rough hands, the cold blade, Timmy's words…
"I'm sorry," Jon said. "I didn't mean to make you all worry…"
Before he could stop them, hot tears began to spill from his eyes. He had caused so much worry, so much stress… After what Jon had done, he didn't deserve all of this worry and care.
"Oh, Jonathan…"
Grandpa Sam wrapped his arms around Jon in a loose hug. Jon froze for a second, but then he leaned into it. It had been awhile since he had gotten a hug from his grandpa. He had missed it.
"I love you, son," Grandpa Sam said as he tightened up the hug just a little bit.
"I love you too," Jon said as he savored the hug. If he was being honest, he couldn't really remember the last hug that he had gotten from his grandpa.
The hug lasted for a few more moments, then Jon pulled away. Before he could get all the way against the pillows again, Grandpa Sam reached over and ruffled his hair.
"Hey!" Jon exclaimed and tried to bat away his grandfather's hands.
"Sorry, kiddo," Grandpa Sam said. "I couldn't resist it."
They fell into a more comfortable silence as the game came back on. Admittedly though, Jon wasn't sure how much he wanted to watch football anymore. Even before his injury, he was pretty sure he would never play again. Now he was certain of that. It just felt like it was right outside of his grasp. Something that he could have had, but it wasn't meant to be.
"So…" Grandpa Sam began. "How are things here?"
Jon once again had to resist the urge to shrug. Of all the things he couldn't wait to do again, shrugging was at the top of the list.
"They've been alright, I guess…" he said. "Some stuff kinda sucks though. Like having to need someone's help for everything."
Grandpa Sam nodded. "I get that," he said. "Not too much fun after the first ten minutes, huh?"
Jon nodded back. "Yeah…"
"And things with your folks have been okay?" Grandpa Sam asked.
Jon sighed. "They've been okay," he said. "Jordan has been force-feeding me ice cream, Mom has been a bit busy with this huge story, and things are better with Dad now."
Grandpa Sam frowned. "What's wrong between you and your dad?"
Jon hesitated. How much should he really tell? If he said too much, it could bring back unnecessary drama. Things were finally getting better between him and his dad. He didn't want to mess that up.
"Just the X-K stuff," Jon said. "But we've been working it out."
Grandpa Sam nodded. "That's good," he said, then cleared his throat. "Hey, Jon?"
Jon looked up at him. "Yeah, Grandpa?"
"When you're feeling up to it, how does a weekend at the cabin sound?" Grandpa Sam asked.
Jon grinned as his chest fluttered with excitement. He loved weekends at the cabin. The fishing, the food, the late night bonfires…
"Really?" He asked. He couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. Jon wanted this trip so badly.
Grandpa Sam nodded. "Of course," he told him. "If it's alright with your parents. You know I love having you over, Lieutenant does too."
Jon chuckled at the mention of his grandpa's dog. The mangy stray that had shown up in Grandpa Sam's backyard one day and somehow made his way into the Four Star General's heart.
"I can't wait," Jon said.
Grandpa Sam smiled back at Jon, then reached over and gently wrapped his arm around the boy. "Me neither."
Clark sighed as he settled in bed beside Lois. It had been such an exhausting day, and guilt weighed heavily on his chest.
Lois reached over and her hand began to card through his curls, she didn't look up from her laptop though. In the bright light of her computer, Clark could see the dark circles under her eyes.
It had been a hard few days for both of them. She didn't know that they were his fault though.
If he had just checked Jon's backpack…
The more Clark thought about what had happened, the sicker he felt. Every time he thought about it, his stomach twisted so painfully that he thought he was going to throw up.
"How's your story going?" He asked her, desperate to get his mind off of the ELT.
Lois sighed, then shook her head. "This Ally stuff is killing me…" she told him, then slammed the top of her laptop shut and placed it on the nightstand.
Clark reached over and pulled her into his arms. She curled up to his chest instantly. "I'm sorry, babe," he said, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
She shrugged. "I dunno…" she said softly. "Everything's been hard since…"
He pulled her closer. She didn't have to finish her sentence for Clark to know what she was talking about. Had Jon even left their minds since the attack happened?
"I know…" he said.
Lois laid her hand on his muscular arm and looked up at him. "Has he told you anything yet?" she asked.
Clark hesitated, then shook his head. Jon hadn't felt like he had been able to come to him since before the attack, and was just now starting to open up to him.
And one of the few times he had asked about the attack had been immediately after Jon had woken up after being brought to the hospital. The doctors hadn't even been sure if he would wake up and Clark had launched into questions before really making sure he was okay.
What kind of a father was he?
Sure, things were hopefully getting better with Jon now that they had talked, but still… He should have seen these things. Jon shouldn't have had to feel unloved for so long.
Once again, the ELT was at the forefront of Clark's mind.
Why hadn't he checked? Jon wasn't supposed to go anywhere without it, so why hadn't Clark asked if he had it?
Suddenly, the guilt was too much. It pressed on his chest and made him feel sicker than any kryptonite ever could.
Before he could stop them, tears began to roll down his cheeks. In seconds, the tears turned into sobs.
He was so stupid. It was all his fault. He was the reason Jon had been tortured and multilated. Jon would be forever scarred from the attack because Clark hadn't made it in time to save him.
Faintly, he felt Lois's hand on his cheek. He tried to use it to ground himself, but he was drowning. He deserved this sickening pain. He had broken his promise to Jon.
"Hey," she soothed. "Talk to me, babe."
"It's all my fault," he gasped between sobs. He couldn't believe that he had done this to his child. His precious child was hurt and it was all his fault.
Lois frowned. "What do you mean?"
He tried to wipe his eyes, but it didn't do anything to help. Instead, it just made his face uncomfortably wet.
"He didn't have his ELT with him," Clark told her.
Lois sat up, her eyes widening as she did. "He didn't?" she asked. "Where was it?"
He shook his head. "In his backpack…" Clark said softly. "That I took away."
Lois ran her fingers through her long brown hair and stayed silent for a moment. Clark wondered if she was thinking of what to say or trying to process what he had just told her.
"Did you know that the ELT was in there?" she asked. There was a level of hesitancy in her voice that made another wave of guilt wash over Clark.
He knew that Lois lived in a constant fear of losing her children, and he also knew that she would do anything in the world to protect them.
Clark shook his head, though the guilt still laid heavy on his chest. "I didn't see it," he told her. "But maybe I should have dumped out the backpack… I don't know, I thought he would have it on him."
"Maybe if I had just checked, then he wouldn't have been hurt, or at least I would have heard him calling…" Clark continued. "I should have at least asked if he had it on him before he went to work."
Lois reached over and placed her hand on his. "Clark, that doesn't make this all your fault," she said. "You didn't know that he didn't have it on him."
Clark felt his throat tighten up again, and his eyes burned with fresh tears. "But he's so hurt now," he said. "And I promised him that I would keep him safe. I swore to protect him…"
"So we help him recover," she said as she gave Clark's hand a small squeeze. "And we keep him safe and protect him now."
Clark nodded. "Yeah," he said, though he could hardly get the word out with how tight his throat was.
Clark reached up and wiped at his eyes again. The weight from the guilt still suffocated him, but it was a little easier to breathe now.
Somehow, his wife always knew how to make things better, she just always knew what to say and do. Clark still couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to have her as his wife.
"He's gonna recover," she told him. "It'll be awhile, but he's strong."
Clark nodded hesitantly. He knew she was right, but they had both seen the injuries that littered Jonathan's body. He was strong, but was he that strong?
"I should go check on him," Clark said. "Make sure that his medication hasn't worn off."
Lois nodded, then leaned back against her pillows as Clark stood up and walked over to the door.
Clark opened the door, then startled when he saw his son standing there.
Jordan looked up at Clark, his body was tense and his face was filled with anger and sadness. Something was wrong.
"Hey," Clark said. "What's going on?"
Jordan's eyes locked with Clark's, and in his big green eyes Clark could see a glow of betrayal. It was a look of a million words, but Jordan only spoke five.
"You took away Jon's ELT?"
I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!