Recovering at home

Thursday (5 days back home)

The next few days at home were a bit strange for Clark. On one hand he felt very relieved to finally leave StarLabs, but he still didn't feel very comfortable at home.

He was very grateful for everything Lois and his parents had done to find him a new accessible house... But it still didn't feel like a home, it would take him a few days to get used to it.

As if he had nothing else to get used to...

It wasn't just the new house, but his "new" life... He had to get used to having to use a wheelchair, having a schedule to go to the bathroom, having to ask for help for simple things, and many other things... The list went on and on, and it wasn't easy to deal with so many changes at once.

Sean and Kelly had come to visit him on Monday afternoon to continue with their exercises, and they would continue to come every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until Dr. Klein deemed it necessary. Luckily, Lois had turned John's future room into a temporary gym so Clark could continue his therapies without any problems. And on Sean's recommendation, Lois had also been working out... helping a 6'1" adult male with transfers takes a lot of strength. Sean had commented that many caregivers ended up with back pain from not exercising or doing wrong movements when helping with transfers.

On Tuesday, it was Dr. Friskin's turn to visit him. She had agreed to visit him at home on Tuesdays until Clark was able to visit her in her office.

As for the daily routine, Lois and Clark were still working on that... For the moment Martha and Jonathan could help them with John, but in a few days Lois would return to the Planet full time, Jonathan would return to Smallville, and Martha couldn't stay forever, so every morning Lois and Clark tried a new routine, recreating what their mornings would be like when they both returned to the Planet and had to take John to daycare.

After several days of trying, today they seemed to have found the right combination: Lois got up to get John ready for the day while Clark took a shower, then it was time for Lois to take a shower while Clark gave John his bottle, and then they both finished off by having breakfast with John in his stroller.

— I think you did it today — Martha said as she saw them approaching to have breakfast

— Yes, I think so — Lois said as she sat down at the table to eat the breakfast Martha had prepared — Thanks Martha

— Thanks mom — Clark said, moving his chair closer to the table

— How did you wake up today, son? — Jonathan asked

— Good... A little tired from yesterday's exercises... But good — Clark answered

Sean had made Clark work hard yesterday, especially he wanted to exercise Clark's abdominal and back muscles, since apparently sitting all day was not as easy (muscularly) as it seems.

— Remember that later you have to do the passive exercises that Sean left you — Lois said

— I know — Clark answered

Sean had created a passive exercise routine for Clark, which he had to do every day. These exercises were for his legs, so he required someone to help him, moving each of his joints, and thus flexing/extending the muscles. Sean had mentioned that due to lack of movement, muscles are diminishing, and tendons are shortening... With the exercise routine he had prepared, this would not happen so markedly, and would keep Clark's legs in good condition (or as good as possible)

— Don't worry, we'll help him — said Martha

— Thank you, it's a relief that you're here — said Lois

Lois would have her first day back at the Planet today. After talking to Clark, Lois had spoken with human resources, and they had come to an agreement that she would have flexible hours for the moment so she could accompany Clark during his therapies. That is to say that Monday, Wednesday and Friday she would only work until 2 pm to be able to accompany Clark in his afternoon therapies, while on Tuesday and Thursday she would have to go the whole day.

— You don't have to thank us, dear — said Jonathan — we are happy to be able to help in any way we can...

— Have you gotten tickets yet? — Lois asked him

— Yes, for Sunday afternoon — Jonathan answered, looking at his son guiltily

— It's okay dad, I know you have to go take care of the farm — Clark answered when he saw his father's face — besides, everything is getting better now...

— I know, but I would like to stay a little longer

— You've been very helpful Jonathan, thank you — Lois said, standing up — thanks for the breakfast Martha, but I have to go now or I'll be late

— Have a nice day — Clark said

— Thanks honey — she answered, coming closer to give him a kiss — you too

— Clark, why don't you go get some sun before you have to go back to bed? — Martha said as soon as Clark had finished his breakfast — we clean up here

— Thanks mom

Just as Dr. Klein had instructed, Clark didn't spend too much time in the wheelchair, and he had gotten up almost an hour ago. The longest he had been out of bed so far was a little over an hour and a half. Dr. Klein had told him not to go over two hours yet, and Clark was eager to get to that, but his back still didn't agree... After an hour and a half his back was already starting to protest, forcing him to go back to bed a few minutes later.

— Dad, would you help me by carrying John? — Clark asked — I know I should put the baby carrier on, but I don't want to waste time in the sun...

— Sure, don't worry

Just like with the morning routine, Clark had tried not to abuse the help of his parents or Lois, so he could get used to doing things on his own. He had been using the baby carrier every time he wanted to spend time with John... but after giving him his bottle this morning he had taken it off, and putting it back on took a few minutes... Minutes of sun that he didn't want to waste.

Once on the terrace, Clark placed his chair in a corner where the pleasant morning rays of sunlight reached it, while Jonathan put John in his bouncer chair.

Clark couldn't believe how much John had grown since he had arrived that magical night. The baby was already spending more hours awake, and he enjoyed being in his bouncer chair, babbling animatedly to whoever would listen.

— Thanks, Dad.

— I'll go buy some ingredients that your mother is missing for lunch — said Jonathan — if you need anything, ask her... Or wait for me, I'll be right back.

— We'll be fine, Dad, don't worry — said Clark, taking his book to start reading.

On the way to the terrace, Clark had grab a book that he had started reading a few days ago and that he had left on the couch the night before. On Tuesday during the session with Dr. Friskin, she recommended that he use this time at home to really rest and recover, which included enjoying his free time. She recommended that he take advantage of reading and not worry about things over which he had no control, such as the time his body needed to recover. If six weeks of rest is what his body needed, so did his mind. "All the changes that this adaptation process requires generate stress, and therefore leisure time is just as important as the therapies with Sean and Kelly" Dr. Friskin had said.

To be honest, Clark had found the recommendation extremely beneficial, in just two days he could already begin to see how his mood was improving. Although at StarLabs he had had leisure time that he spent watching TV, he had not enjoyed it... He had had the TV on in the background, while his mind only turned over the thousands of unanswered questions he had about the future and his new reality.

However, now as he sat on the terrace to read, he really concentrated on the book, enjoying its plot. Luckily for him, his super hearing had not fully returned yet, and although he could clearly hear his mother washing the dishes in the kitchen, he could not fully hear the neighbors, and even less what was happening in the rest of the city. It was a relief for Clark... having to hear cries for help or disasters without being able to go help would have been distressing.

Although it was Lois' first day back at the Planet, there was something she had to do before heading there.

— Good morning Bill — Lois said to the detective.

— Good morning — he replied — The judge is waiting for us, we just need to wait for Dr. Klein to arrive.

— Great

— How is Clark doing?

— Good... Starting to get into the swing of his new routine

— I'm glad... — said Bill — Oh grear, we're all here

— Good morning — said Dr. Klein, approaching Lois and Bill Henderson

— Thank you for coming Dr. Klein — said Lois

— A pleasure to be able to help — replied the scientist

— Come on, the judge is waiting for us — said Bill, leading them to the room where the judge in charge of the case against the masked attackers was waiting for them

— Good morning Judge Martin, Prosecutor Johnson — said Bill upon entering — this is Lois Lane and Dr. Klein...

— Good morning — they both said

— Dr. Klein works at StarLabs, and has worked together with Superman to better understand his powers

— I see... — said the judge — Bill told me that you wanted to talk to us before the trial starts next week

— That's right... — said Lois — As you know, the attackers came to the Planet with the intention of being able to confront Superman... And in the process they injured my husband

— Yes, I'm aware of that — said the judge — although I'm sorry about your husband, I don't see how this event can be so relevant... A pair of pistols wouldn't have hurt Superman

— Normally it's like that... But they had bullets made of Kryptonite — said Lois — and as you know, that can hurt him

Lois would like for no one to know about Kryptonite, but since Zod's attack, everyone already knew. The only consolation so far had been that Kryptonite was not easy to get, and most of it was kept in StarLabs... Or so they thought until now.

— Oh... I see

— In fact, their bullets were made of Kryptonite, and inside they had a highly concentrated liquid version of Kryptonite — explained Dr. Klein — Until now we have never seen such a presentation

— If this information is made public, we could endanger Superman's life — added Lois — ...and consequently the safety of the planet in general

— I understand... — answered the prosecutor thoughtfully — is Kryptonite harmful to humans?

— In its natural form, no — said Dr. Klein — ...but in its concentrated liquid version it could be...

— Is Mr. Kent okay? — asked the judge

— Yes... But the bullets caused more damage than normal ones— said Dr. Klein, handing Clark's medical record to the judge

Obviously the medical record that Dr. Klein had brought, was the edited version, but as accurate as possible.

— I see... This could be very dangerous in the wrong hands, indeed — said the judge, giving the report a quick glance, then passing it to the prosecutor.

— And not only that — added Bill — in their lair we found concentrated versions of two other types of Kryptonite.

— Other types? — they both asked.

— Yes, red and blue Kryptonite — explained Dr. Klein — normal green Kryptonite is harmful to Superman, and it's the one they made the bullets with they affected Mr. Kent.

— And what effects do the other two have? — asked the prosecutor

— The red one mainly affects Superman's mood... — said Lois — Although prolonged exposure causes him to lose control of his powers

— The blue one... We don't know yet — said Dr. Klein — until a few days ago we didn't even know it existed... And with Superman off-planet, I haven't had a chance to run tests

— I see... — said the prosecutor, leaving Clark's medical record on his desk — we definitely can't let these details come to light...

— We would endanger Superman's safety and indirectly the whole world's... — added the judge

— Would it be possible to have a private trial? — asked Lois

— We'll definitely need a private trial... — said the judge — ...in fact I wouldn't feel comfortable with a regular jury either...

— What can be done?

— We'll have to treat this as a matter of national security, I suppose — said the prosecutor — I'll talk to my superiors to see if we can do a special trial

— Thank you — said Lois sincerely

— Thank you for warning us about this before the trial began — said the prosecutor — I assume Mrs. Lane that you won't publish any of this in the newspaper

— No, of course not... if you read my article about the attack, you'll know that I left out several details — Lois said seriously — at most, there could be a small article reporting the final sentence for those who attacked the Planet, but without giving more details than what is already known

— Sounds good to me — said the judge

— Fine, I'll be contacting you to ask you to testify at the trial — said the prosecutor

— Great, we'll be waiting — said Lois, standing up — thanks for your time

— Do you think your husband would be willing to testify? — asked the prosecutor

— I don't know... I don't know, I've asked him — said Lois

— Mr. Kent is out of the hospital — added Dr. Klein — but, he's still on bed rest

— I see — said the prosecutor, standing up as well to say goodbye — later we'll see if it's feasible or not

— Do you think Clark will want to testify? — Bill asked when they were already out of the room

— I really don't know — Lois answered — thanks for getting us this meeting

— It was nothing... — said Bill, who just received a call on his cell phone — I'm sorry, I have to go... See you later

— Dr. Klein... Have you been able to find out anything about the blue Kryptonite? — Lois asked in a whisper as soon as Bill Henderson walked away

— I don't have anything concrete yet — he said — I still have to do more tests

— Oh...

— I'll let you know as soon as I find out something

— Thanks — Lois said with a smile

The days continued to pass in a similar way for Clark.

On Sunday Jonathan returned to Smallville to take care of the farm, while Martha stayed in Metropolis to be able to help in whatever was necessary.

The following Tuesday morning Dr. Klein went to visit him at the house to see how he was evolving. In conclusion, daily exposure to the sun had helped, but Clark's body needed more time to recover from the effects of the liquid Kryptonite than from its original form... the damage had been greater, so something like this was to be expected. The pain was decreasing day by day, and his powers were also slowly strengthening.

Without even realizing it, he was almost done with his second week at home. Little by little, Clark had been adapting to the new routine at home. Thanks to Kelly's advice, he had already started cooking again, and doing other daily activities became easier every day. And thanks to Sean's exercises, his back hurt less every day, so he could now sit for almost two hours without much pain.

Lois was still working a flexible schedule, and although she enjoyed spending time with John, and being able to accompany Clark in his therapies, she had realized that she missed the Planet terribly... What could she say, Mad Dog Lane loved his job.

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its a short one, i Know... but if i post it all at once it would have ended been really confusing

So sorry for the long wait... i already have half of the next chapter done, so i hope it won't take that long