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Mr. Beeto
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Family Reunion - 9/?
Aug 15th, 2008 at 1:12am
 
Title: Family Reunion
Author: Mr. Beeto
Rating: PG-13
Beta: htbthomas and Shado Librarian
Summary: AU Twist on Donner/Singer Movieverse: Tie the three films together into a cohesive whole, and provide a more credible and interesting reason for Superman to have returned to Krypton.

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Author's Notes:

There's still a little more setup in Smallville before heading back to Metropolis. Rest assured that we'll get there soon.

Thanks again to htbthomas and Shado Librarian for the beta.

Chapter 9 - Welcoming Kara

Saturday, September 16, 2006 11:30 AM CDT

Martha set the laundry basket on the dining room table, and began pulling out the clothing and folding it. Those two have certainly been generating a lot of laundry during their training sessions, Martha thought to herself. After each session, the pair seemed to come back to the house covered in dust from the fields, and both in desperate need of a bath and change of clothes. Well, maybe once she finds her wings they'll come back a little cleaner.

Martha's thoughts were interrupted by a male voice from the back door. "Hello, hello, hello!" he called out cheerfully. "Mind a visit from a strange old man?"

"Come on in, Ben," Martha greeted pleasantly. "I'm in the dining room."

Ben strolled comfortably through the kitchen, and greeted Martha with a chaste kiss. "I've missed you the past few days," he confided. "I've also heard a few things about the company you've been keeping," he teased. He pulled out a chair and sat at the table, his gaze locking on the little jeans Martha had in her hands. "I don't think those will fit Clark," he commented.

"No," Martha said simply. "They're Kara's."

"Your granddaughter who I had to find out about from the town gossips," Ben finished. "Do I get to meet her?"

"Clark took her to the Sedgwick County Zoo this morning," Martha informed him. "I don't expect them back until late this afternoon... Ben, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all this. I didn't mean to keep you in the dark, it's just... Well, it's complicated and these are Clark's private matters. It really wasn't my place to speak of it."

"I'd have respected his privacy," Ben assured her. "Are you sure that your silence wasn't because Clark never married Kara's mother?" Martha looked over at Ben with a surprised expression on her face and he elaborated. "Like I said, 'town gossips.' I got a call from Gladys yesterday morning right after she talked to you. She was trying to find out what I knew about Kara."

"What else did she tell you?" Martha inquired.

"That Clark and, what was her name, Annika? That they were only together briefly before she left him and went back to Europe and that he never knew about Kara. At least, not until after the poor kid's mother died in that tsunami a couple weeks back, along with the rest of her family. Gladys didn't seem to have too many details beyond that."

"Well, she's lucky she got that much," Martha snapped. "Our focus these past few days has been on Kara, not putting out a press release for those old gossips."

"Martha, I'm not the enemy here," Ben replied gently. "And I know this has to be rough on the girl - she's had the carpet pulled out from under her when she should still be blissfully ignorant of the harsh realities of this world."

Martha set down the unfolded jeans, and dropped into the chair beside Ben. "You have no idea," she admitted. "The poor dear's been breaking down in tears over her loss when you least expect it, and wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming from terrible nightmares. Clark spent the entire night in the chair by her bed last night so he'd be there to chase away the bad dreams before they had her busting through the walls."

"I can imagine," Ben replied compassionately. "Has she gotten any professional help?"

"What?" Martha began uneasily. "She's only had a few days to adjust. Give her some time."

"Martha, you do remember how the Holland kids were after their folks were killed by that drunk on fifty-three, don't you?" Ben reminded her. "They practically gave their poor grandparents strokes from their antics until that doctor from Kansas City turned them around."

"Kara's nothing like those little devils," Martha retorted. "She's a very well-behaved little darling."

"I think that she'd still benefit from the help," Ben countered. At Martha's aggravated expression, he quickly added, "Please, at least think about it. There, I've said my piece. I won't pester you on it any further."

Martha gaze lost focus as she considered Ben's advice. "Things aren't as simple as they were with the Holland boys," she sadly confided. "This is so much more complicated, and these aren't matters that are easy to talk about."

"What's the real story here, Martha?" Ben prodded gently.

"I..." she began. No, I can't lie to him, she decided. "As much as I'd like to, I simply can't say anything yet," she explained. "Not without talking to Clark first... And I haven't yet had a chance to tell him about you."

Ben nodded his understanding. "Fair enough," he stated sympathetically. "I suppose you've had more than enough to keep your mind occupied the past few days."

"Thank you, Ben," Martha told him sincerely. "I promise I'll talk to Clark about this when I get a chance." Ben reached for her hand, and smiled warmly at his companion.

-o-o-o-


Saturday, September 16, 2006 5:00 PM CDT

Martha allowed her mind to wander as she peeled the potatoes for dinner, and she realized just how fortunate she was to have found such an understanding beau. Ben hadn't pushed for details on Kara's background, and instead simply offered her his unconditional support. Even with certain specifics off-limits, Martha had still been able to describe Kara's circumstances with surprising detail. He absorbed as much as she would tell him, gently encouraging her to share her worry without pressuring her to speak. Martha hadn't realized how much the situation had been weighing her down until Ben had lightened the load for her.

I'm going to have to talk to Clark about him, and soon, she reminded herself, and her stomach knotted at the thought. He's going to be surprised, and it will probably bother him at first. He and Jonathan were so close... She threw the last of the potatoes in the pot and turned on the burner, shifting her attention to the ears of corn.

Her preparations were disrupted when her tardy dinner guests breezed through the back door. "Grandma!" Kara exclaimed. "We saw the penguins dive off the ice and swim deep down through the ocean! It's like they were flying through the water! And on land, they walk real funny, like this..." Kara entertained her grandmother with a playful imitation of the bird's waddle.

Martha smiled delightfully at the presentation. "Well, it sounds like someone had fun... But somehow I don't think you saw that at the zoo." Martha teased her son with a suspicious expression.

"We went to Antarctica," Kara explained. "And before that, we went to Australia, and saw kangaroos, and wallabies, an even a Tasmanian devil." She wrinkled her nose and informed her grandmother in a loud whisper, "They smell really bad..."

Martha laughed lightly at the child's description. "Yes, I imagine they do," she agreed, stooping over to pull Kara into a hug and kissing her forehead.

"We were at the zoo, and I was trying to explain the difference in the animals' wild behavior, and it just seemed easier to show her," Clark explained. "We'll have a lot more places to see, don't we?"

"Uh-huh," Kara confirmed. "Yellowstone, and Alaska, and Africa..."

"Don't be in too big of a hurry," Martha advised pleasantly. "There's plenty of time to see the wonders of the world. Besides, you haven't finished telling me what you saw today." Kara smiled widely and launched into a detailed description of all the wonders she saw that day to her attentive audience.

Kara's tale continued well past dinner, with Martha's conscientious questions drawing out more details of the story, and keeping the child in a state of excited glee, until her eyelids grew heavy shortly after nine o'clock. She stubbornly insisted that she wasn't tired, but was sound asleep on the couch next to her grandmother a half hour later, despite her best efforts to avoid that outcome.

After Kara was put to bed, Martha motioned for Clark to follow her outside. She stopped at the rail fence in front of the house and turned to face her son. "Did she have as much fun today as it seemed?" she whispered quietly.

Clark smiled widely. "I think so," he whispered back to her. "She was in such awe of the animals."

"Good, she needed this - to just be a little girl." Clark nodded and the two were silent for a moment before Martha continued. "You do realize that there isn't an easy fix here, don't you? She had a good day today, but not all of the days ahead will be good days."

"I know."

"If it weren't for her... special circumstances... I'd probably be suggesting a psychologist for her," Martha said quietly. "Actually, Ben made a quite convincing argument for it when he stopped by this morning."

"It'd be too risky," Clark reminded her. "They couldn't really help her without knowing what she's been through and we can't reveal that to anyone." He turned back to the house, focusing his eyes at an unseen point.

"Did we wake her up?" Martha asked anxiously.

"No, it was just Shelby," Clark assured her. "It looks like she's planning to watch over Kara tonight."

"Those two certainly hit it off," Martha commented happily. Her tone turned serious as she continued. "Clark, I know we can't reveal her history to a stranger, but without psychological help, it's going to be tougher for her to get through this."

"Maybe I have some studying to do," Clark decided.

"That's better than nothing, I suppose," Martha muttered. "I just wish we could do more." Martha looked back at the house with her son, and again worried for the child that she was quickly growing to love as much as if the little girl had been born her granddaughter. Please, Lord, help this child.

-o-o-o-


Sunday, September 17, 2006 6:30 AM CDT

When Martha inspected Kara's room on her way down the hall, she was surprised to find the child in peaceful slumber this time, with one arm slung around Shelby who was also sleeping on the bed. She also noticed that the chair that Clark had occupied the night before was vacant. Well, I guess she had some better things to dream about last night, Martha thought. She smiled at the tableau and pulled the door shut behind her before heading downstairs. She found Clark sitting on the living room couch in his pajamas, watching the news on the muted television and reading the closed captioning. She walked up to him, affectionately placing her hand on his shoulder. "Looks like she had a good night," Martha whispered.

"Almost," Clark whispered back. "I heard her around four o'clock, but Shelby had it all under control. She was licking Kara's face and settling her down almost as soon as it started."

"Could that be dangerous for Shelby?" Martha asked, remembering the smashed bed and wall of a couple days earlier.

"I'd have intervened in time," Clark answered confidently. "Besides, Shelby seemed to sense the trouble before it started - she should be fine."

Martha glanced over at the television and quietly asked, "How long have you been sitting here watching the news?"

"Too long," Clark answered, picking up the remote and shutting off the television. "The world is a much darker place than it used to be."

"Well, we certainly hear about it more," Martha opined. "But I really don't think that people have changed all that much. Especially not around here."

"Smallville's special." Clark stated simply.

"That it is," Martha agreed. The perfect place for Kara to ease into this world, she thought.

He turned and briefly flicked his vision up to Kara's room. "Looks like she's waking up."

"I'll start breakfast."

-o-o-o-


Sunday, September 17, 2006 9:30 AM CDT

"But I don't want to go to church!" Kara whined bitterly. She stood defiantly in her jeans and Kansas State T-shirt with her arms crossed, glaring at Clark. "You said we could go see the bears!"

"After church," Clark corrected her. "After all of us go."

"Kara, honey, it's what good Christian people do -" Martha began gently.

"But it's not my church!" Kara declared.

"Kara, it wasn't polite to interrupt you grandmother like that," Clark scolded. "Now listen to me: You don't have to embrace every tenet of the religion to accept its universal truths, and like most modern faiths of this world, the values it teaches are no different than what you would have been taught on Krypton. You can take the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a good person and a member of this community."

"But, Yellowstone!" Kara complained.

"We won't be going if you don't behave yourself," Clark informed her sternly. "Kara, this isn't just about religion. St. John's Church is the heart of this community, and our friends and neighbors will be there expecting us. They want to meet you, and extend their welcome to you, and we're not going to disappoint them." He paused a moment, and softened his tone before continuing, "It really won't be that bad, honey, and we can still go to Yellowstone afterwards."

"I still don't want to go," she muttered.

"I know, sweetheart," Clark said kindly. "But it's one of those things that you simply have to do. Now, please, go up and put on that dress that Grandma set out for you."

Kara continued her glare for a moment, and then dropped her gaze to the floor, her shoulders sagging. She slowly turned around and trudged up the stairs, Martha following closely behind her. Before turning the corner at the landing, Martha looked back at her son with a small smile on her face. She gave him a quick nod of approval, before turning back up the stairs to help Kara get changed. I really hope this gets easier, Clark reflected.

Kara was sullen on the drive to church, refusing to talk with them or to sing along with the old tunes Clark had suggested on the drive and she was restless and fidgeting once the service began. Martha had whispered into her ear a few times, explaining the service to her, and offering gentle encouragements for her to sit still. Clark left that task to his mother and allowed himself to relax into the comforting sound of the congregations' singing.

" Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest-home (1)..."

Rather than the peaceful meditation he sought, Clark's thoughts instead turned the tasks remaining to establish Kara's Identity. Her identity was now recognized in Smallville, based on the conversations he'd overheard before the service. However, to stand up to legal scrutiny and keep CPS off his back, he'd need more than just the European documents he'd planted. As his mother had pointed out, he would need to produce DNA results proving that Kara was his. However, there didn't seem to be an acceptable solution for collecting the cells from the inner cheeks of their neighbors without the subjects noticing, and no false explanation he could think of would convince his neighbors to collaborate on the deception. How do we manage that without burdening them with our secrets?

" All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin...."

Even once they solved the DNA problem, they would still face challenges ahead. School authorities would eventually demand booster shots for her, but no needle would penetrate her skin. Tom Evans took care of all of that for me, without ever asking Mom and Dad why. But he passed away years ago, and I can't imagine Doc Rivers going out on a limb like that.

" God our Maker doth provide, for our wants to be supplied..."

A loud sigh from Kara brought his attention back to the subject of his contemplations, and she glared back at him when she caught him looking. Mom never would have let me get away with that attitude when I was her age, he noted. Though, it looks like she's expecting me to handle it this time around. He bent over and whispered in Kara's ear, "If you really want to go to Yellowstone after church, you had better drop that attitude and start behaving," he warned. Kara immediately looked away from him, and slid closer to Martha.

" Come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home..."

Clark joined in singing the rest of the hymn, cautiously eyeing Kara beside him, who studiously avoided looking back at him. Well, at least she's finally sitting still.

-o-o-o-


After the service, Clark was genuinely touched when Ben Hubbard's extended family unexpectedly fanned out to create a protective circle around them. They politely intercepted the well-wishers and kept the crowd of neighbors around them to a manageable level. They maintained that perimeter when the two families entered the meeting hall next door for the church-sponsored brunch, and took their seats at one of the tables.

"Ben, I don't know how to thank you for this," Clark sincerely told the elderly gentleman seated beside him. "I'm not sure how to thank you for everything you've done for our family over the years."

"No need for that," Ben assured him. "Besides, I know how overwhelming our well-meaning community can be. They tend to overdose on compassion when tragedy strikes. That's the last thing this little one needs." He gestured across the table to Kara, who was sitting between Martha and Ben's eight-year-old granddaughter, Becky Hayden. Kara was listening with great interest to Becky's description of the filly that their mare had foaled the previous spring. Clark and Ben silently eavesdropped on the two girls for a moment. Finally, Ben confidently whispered, "I think Kara's made a new friend."

"Daddy let me name her," Becky happily informed Kara. "And I named her Lily. She's Lily the filly. Would you like to see her sometime?"

Martha was also listening in on the girls, and smiled peacefully at conversation. She'd already noticed Kara's love for animals, as demonstrated with the animals on the farm, especially Shelby. She now seemed equally enamored with Becky's foal. Kara's going to need friends her age, too, Martha pondered. Friends like Becky.

"Grandma?" Kara interrupted politely.

Martha pulled herself from her contemplations, and turned her full attention to the little girl. "Yes, dear?"

"Can I please go see Becky's baby horse?" Kara asked sweetly.

Martha laughed lightly at how quickly her granddaughter's mood had changed, "Don't you think you should ask your dad?"

Kara looked across the table to Clark. "Can I, please?"

Clark smiled at her, answering in mock surprise, "Are you sure you really want to spend the afternoon with horses?" Kara nodded excitedly, and Clark chuckled. "If it's okay with Becky's parents, then I suppose so."

Becky's mother, Sarah, sealed the deal. "It'll be no trouble, Clark. We'd be happy to show her around the stables."

"Okay, after we're done here and you've changed back into your jeans, we'll take you over to the Hayden's stables to meet Lily," Clark informed Kara seriously.

Both girls smiled widely, gleefully continuing their chatter, and Martha chuckled at the girls' reaction. She looked fondly over at her son, and thought happily, He's really getting the hang of this. Her gaze shifted to Ben sitting beside him, and her smile faded as she recognized the potential threat to the comfortable rapport between the two men. Things are going to get a bit awkward between those two once Clark hears our news, she thought. It's going to take them a while to get back to this point.

-o-o-o-


(1) "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come", by George J. Elvey and Henry Alford, from the United Methodist Hymnal.

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« Last Edit: May 20th, 2009 at 11:39pm by Mr. Beeto »  
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