FIC: "A Little Guidance" (SV, 1/1, coda to SV 7.02)
A Little Guidance
coda to Smallville 7.02 “Kara”
Clark closed the door to his room slowly, careful of the oil-thirsty hinges. Now that Kara’s hearing was active, anything could wake her up…
After their conversation in the barn, he’d led his long-lost cousin back into the house and fed her. He wasn’t sure if it was a teenager thing, a Kryptonian thing, or a my-planet-blew-up-and-I’m-hiding-my-grief-behind-food thing, but her appetite had nearly matched his. His friend Bart would have definitely been impressed.
After dinner he’d recognized the signs of exhaustion on her face and he led her to his room. His parents’ room was unoccupied - his mom in D.C. for the next few months, and while he knew he wouldn’t give their room to Kara (it was clear she’d be staying with him quite a while; she had nowhere else to go), he balked a little at the idea of taking their room for himself. It was the logical choice, but it still felt a little uncomfortable, like he could still feel his dad in there.
Having checked in on her and certain now that Kara was asleep - he’d heard her crying a little not too long ago, as he washed the dishes from their hodge-podge dinner - he went back downstairs. He glanced around the living room, but nothing grabbed at him - not the TV though it was premiere season, not the books that Chloe had recommended, not the farm ledger that had three-month-old arithmetic errors he could have cleaned up in seconds - until his eyes landed on the phone. Before he knew what he was doing, he was on the couch and dialing a number that was slowly becoming familiar. He glanced at the clock. It was late, but not too late.
A few moments later, a familiar (and thankfully very awake-sounding) voice said, “Hello?”
Clark relaxed. “Hi, Mom.”
“Clark! Oh, honey,” his mom said. “I heard about the dam, and Lana. Is everything all right?”
He sighed. “Sort of,” he admitted. He didn’t really want to talk about Lex or Lana or the phantom that had worn his face. “There’s something else I kind of wanted to tell you about, though.”
The rustling sound of her sitting down her bed came over the line. “All right,” she said. “Do you want to come over? The staff’s gone for the day.”
He considered it - and then heard Kara crying again. It only lasted a moment - a dream, probably - but suddenly he didn’t want to leave her alone. He was the (second) fastest man on Earth, but he wanted to stay close at home. Just in case.
He was all Kara had.
“Actually, I think I should stay here for now,” he said after another moment.
He could practically hear her frowning. “Clark, what’s going on?”
“Mom,” he said and then took a breath. “Mom, I’m not alone anymore.”
He heard her breathing, but that was all he heard for several moments. Then: “Clark, what’s going on? I can be on a plane in an hour.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” he tried to reassure her. “It’s okay. I have…a cousin.” He knew his voice had to be full of wonder at this revelation and he tried to sound more normal as he continued. “A cousin from Krypton. Kara. Her father was Jor-El’s brother.”
“This isn’t the first time a girl -”
“I remember, Mom, but I know she’s for real. She’s who she says she is.”
She sighed. “You’re all grown up, now, Clark,” she said. “I guess I have to let you do things your own way and trust your judgment one of these days. In my heart, though, you’re still that little boy that came toddling out of the cornfield. You’re still my baby.”
He supposed that no one ever outgrew being a little embarrassed by mom-talk like that. “You’d like Kara then. She was looking for a little kid, too.”
“Oh?”
He told her all about it, skipping a few parts here and there, ending with Kara crying herself to sleep. “That poor girl,” his mom said at the end of all of it. “At least she has you, now.”
“Yeah. I just…I’m not sure what to do, I guess. I’ve never taken care of anyone like this before.”
“Clark, you’ll do fine,” she told him. “Remember how great you were with Ryan? And Evan, and Maddie? You’re a natural with kids and while Kara’s obviously much older, I’m sure you’ll manage. I doubt she can find any trouble you haven’t already found yourself.” He blushed a little at her teasing tone. “Just take it one day at a time and don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed hesitantly.
“So she’s going to stay at the farm with you?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said, purposefully skipping Jor-El’s instructions to watch her. His mom didn’t need to worry anymore than she already did. And being a mom, she worried plenty already, he knew. “Do you…” He hesitated, feeling a little uncomfortable. He didn’t really have to change rooms. He’d slept on the couch plenty when Lois had lived with them senior year. He made a fuss about it more from teenage indignation than actual discomfort: being Kryptonian did have its perks and falling asleep almost anywhere seemed to be one of them.
Though that could have just been a teenage boy thing, too.
“What, honey?” his mom asked.
“Kara’s going to be here a long time,” Clark said slowly. “I was thinking she could have my room. And since I’m staying after all, and you’re not going to be home very much -”
His mom laughed. “Yes, Clark, take my room. Don’t work yourself up over it. It’s all right, honey.”
He breathed. “It’s just…a little…weird, I guess?”
His mom hummed a little over the phone. “That’s pretty much how your dad felt when we moved into that room. Grandma and Grandpa Kent were still alive when your dad and I got married, you know. Dad and I had your room for a long, long time, and he felt a little strange himself about changing rooms when the time came.”
“When was that?” he asked. He’d known all of this, of course, but he’d never really thought about it before.
“When you arrived, Clark,” she told him gently. “I was thinking about it just the other day, actually. If you hadn’t been talking about leaving, I would have said something. That room has always belonged to the man of the house, your dad told me. That’s you now, Clark.”
There was a lot of baggage with any thoughts going in that direction, so he tried to think of a way to change the subject. “Speaking of leaving,” he said, suddenly realizing something, resisting the urge to slam the heel of his hand into his forehead, “I guess I’ll need to talk to Ben Hubbard tomorrow or the next. I need to come up with an excuse why Kara’s here. Her being here is enough for me not to leave, but why she’s even here in the first place… I can’t exactly say I drove to Metropolis and quietly adopted her.” Plus - and his mom probably already knew this - Lionel Luthor was still missing and unavailable for document forging.
His mom giggled a little. “No, I suppose not. And Mr. Hubbard will understand. Ever since his wife died, every relative he has has dropped in unexpectedly to stay with him a while. Just talk to him soon.”
“I will,” he promised - then, teasing: “He was asking about you the other day.”
“Clark…”
“I’d rather have him as a stepfather than Lionel Luthor,” he told her bluntly. “Oracle of Jor-El or not.”
“Clark!” she exclaimed, sounding scandalized.
“Mom, you’d be surprised what I hear old men saying about you. I’ve got good ears, remember? Sometimes I wish I could wash my brain with bleach and forget all of it. It’s disturbing to hear people basically say they think you’re hot.”
“Oh, Clark,” she sighed. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be over your father enough to be in a relationship with anyone, but I’m certainly not there yet, and not anytime soon. You’ll probably be long married yourself before that ever happens.”
“Mo-om,” he started, already a little uncomfortable with the line of conversation he had started, and then stopped, hearing Kara again. She was tossing and turning, but at least she wasn’t crying this time. Maybe she just wasn’t used to Earth-style mattresses or something. Who knew what kinds of differences there were between the two cultures? He never thought those kinds of questions might get answered, but with Kara here and remembering Krypton, he could at least ask.
“Clark?”
He almost jumped, having nearly forgotten he was still on the phone. “Oh - sorry. I’ve been keeping an ear open for Kara - she was having a nightmare earlier, I think - and I got distracted.”
“Is she all right?”
He leaned his head into his free hand, his fingers combing his hair. “I think so. It’s been a long day,” he admitted.
“For me as well,” she replied and he could hear the fatigue in her voice. “I should probably let you get some sleep, Mom,” he said.
She yawned almost as if on cue. “I’m a mom,” she countered. “I can stay up and talk as long as you need me, Clark.”
“No,” he said, resigning himself to the end of the phone call. “I’ll let you go. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“You know you can call as often as you want to, Clark,” she said, obviously trying to reassure him. “Or come over. I know how much you enjoy the run. And you should bring Kara with you next time. I’d like to meet her.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to her about it. Maybe this weekend - fewer people, you know?” he suggested. After Kara’s behavior at the Daily Planet, he was hesitant to take her out in public. He needed to teach her a few things first. Hopefully Chloe could help with the girl stuff that still confused him (and if the Justice Bros were to be believed, always would).
“I’m already looking forward to it,” she said. “I love you, Clark.”
He smiled a little. “I love you, too, Mom. Good night.”
“Night, dear.”
They hung up. He sighed as he set the phone down. He might not tire the same way humans did, but he did get tired and sleep would help.
But he balked when he reached the room that had been his parents’ as long as he could remember. There were ghosts in that room.
He grabbed a pillow and a few blankets and headed back downstairs. He paused briefly at the closed door to the other bedroom: Kara was still asleep, and sleeping soundly, he could hear. He continued downstairs and tossed the bedding onto the couch.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to make some changes.
[end]
coda to Smallville 7.02 “Kara”
Clark closed the door to his room slowly, careful of the oil-thirsty hinges. Now that Kara’s hearing was active, anything could wake her up…
After their conversation in the barn, he’d led his long-lost cousin back into the house and fed her. He wasn’t sure if it was a teenager thing, a Kryptonian thing, or a my-planet-blew-up-and-I’m-hiding-my-grief-behind-food thing, but her appetite had nearly matched his. His friend Bart would have definitely been impressed.
After dinner he’d recognized the signs of exhaustion on her face and he led her to his room. His parents’ room was unoccupied - his mom in D.C. for the next few months, and while he knew he wouldn’t give their room to Kara (it was clear she’d be staying with him quite a while; she had nowhere else to go), he balked a little at the idea of taking their room for himself. It was the logical choice, but it still felt a little uncomfortable, like he could still feel his dad in there.
Having checked in on her and certain now that Kara was asleep - he’d heard her crying a little not too long ago, as he washed the dishes from their hodge-podge dinner - he went back downstairs. He glanced around the living room, but nothing grabbed at him - not the TV though it was premiere season, not the books that Chloe had recommended, not the farm ledger that had three-month-old arithmetic errors he could have cleaned up in seconds - until his eyes landed on the phone. Before he knew what he was doing, he was on the couch and dialing a number that was slowly becoming familiar. He glanced at the clock. It was late, but not too late.
A few moments later, a familiar (and thankfully very awake-sounding) voice said, “Hello?”
Clark relaxed. “Hi, Mom.”
“Clark! Oh, honey,” his mom said. “I heard about the dam, and Lana. Is everything all right?”
He sighed. “Sort of,” he admitted. He didn’t really want to talk about Lex or Lana or the phantom that had worn his face. “There’s something else I kind of wanted to tell you about, though.”
The rustling sound of her sitting down her bed came over the line. “All right,” she said. “Do you want to come over? The staff’s gone for the day.”
He considered it - and then heard Kara crying again. It only lasted a moment - a dream, probably - but suddenly he didn’t want to leave her alone. He was the (second) fastest man on Earth, but he wanted to stay close at home. Just in case.
He was all Kara had.
“Actually, I think I should stay here for now,” he said after another moment.
He could practically hear her frowning. “Clark, what’s going on?”
“Mom,” he said and then took a breath. “Mom, I’m not alone anymore.”
He heard her breathing, but that was all he heard for several moments. Then: “Clark, what’s going on? I can be on a plane in an hour.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” he tried to reassure her. “It’s okay. I have…a cousin.” He knew his voice had to be full of wonder at this revelation and he tried to sound more normal as he continued. “A cousin from Krypton. Kara. Her father was Jor-El’s brother.”
“This isn’t the first time a girl -”
“I remember, Mom, but I know she’s for real. She’s who she says she is.”
She sighed. “You’re all grown up, now, Clark,” she said. “I guess I have to let you do things your own way and trust your judgment one of these days. In my heart, though, you’re still that little boy that came toddling out of the cornfield. You’re still my baby.”
He supposed that no one ever outgrew being a little embarrassed by mom-talk like that. “You’d like Kara then. She was looking for a little kid, too.”
“Oh?”
He told her all about it, skipping a few parts here and there, ending with Kara crying herself to sleep. “That poor girl,” his mom said at the end of all of it. “At least she has you, now.”
“Yeah. I just…I’m not sure what to do, I guess. I’ve never taken care of anyone like this before.”
“Clark, you’ll do fine,” she told him. “Remember how great you were with Ryan? And Evan, and Maddie? You’re a natural with kids and while Kara’s obviously much older, I’m sure you’ll manage. I doubt she can find any trouble you haven’t already found yourself.” He blushed a little at her teasing tone. “Just take it one day at a time and don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed hesitantly.
“So she’s going to stay at the farm with you?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said, purposefully skipping Jor-El’s instructions to watch her. His mom didn’t need to worry anymore than she already did. And being a mom, she worried plenty already, he knew. “Do you…” He hesitated, feeling a little uncomfortable. He didn’t really have to change rooms. He’d slept on the couch plenty when Lois had lived with them senior year. He made a fuss about it more from teenage indignation than actual discomfort: being Kryptonian did have its perks and falling asleep almost anywhere seemed to be one of them.
Though that could have just been a teenage boy thing, too.
“What, honey?” his mom asked.
“Kara’s going to be here a long time,” Clark said slowly. “I was thinking she could have my room. And since I’m staying after all, and you’re not going to be home very much -”
His mom laughed. “Yes, Clark, take my room. Don’t work yourself up over it. It’s all right, honey.”
He breathed. “It’s just…a little…weird, I guess?”
His mom hummed a little over the phone. “That’s pretty much how your dad felt when we moved into that room. Grandma and Grandpa Kent were still alive when your dad and I got married, you know. Dad and I had your room for a long, long time, and he felt a little strange himself about changing rooms when the time came.”
“When was that?” he asked. He’d known all of this, of course, but he’d never really thought about it before.
“When you arrived, Clark,” she told him gently. “I was thinking about it just the other day, actually. If you hadn’t been talking about leaving, I would have said something. That room has always belonged to the man of the house, your dad told me. That’s you now, Clark.”
There was a lot of baggage with any thoughts going in that direction, so he tried to think of a way to change the subject. “Speaking of leaving,” he said, suddenly realizing something, resisting the urge to slam the heel of his hand into his forehead, “I guess I’ll need to talk to Ben Hubbard tomorrow or the next. I need to come up with an excuse why Kara’s here. Her being here is enough for me not to leave, but why she’s even here in the first place… I can’t exactly say I drove to Metropolis and quietly adopted her.” Plus - and his mom probably already knew this - Lionel Luthor was still missing and unavailable for document forging.
His mom giggled a little. “No, I suppose not. And Mr. Hubbard will understand. Ever since his wife died, every relative he has has dropped in unexpectedly to stay with him a while. Just talk to him soon.”
“I will,” he promised - then, teasing: “He was asking about you the other day.”
“Clark…”
“I’d rather have him as a stepfather than Lionel Luthor,” he told her bluntly. “Oracle of Jor-El or not.”
“Clark!” she exclaimed, sounding scandalized.
“Mom, you’d be surprised what I hear old men saying about you. I’ve got good ears, remember? Sometimes I wish I could wash my brain with bleach and forget all of it. It’s disturbing to hear people basically say they think you’re hot.”
“Oh, Clark,” she sighed. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be over your father enough to be in a relationship with anyone, but I’m certainly not there yet, and not anytime soon. You’ll probably be long married yourself before that ever happens.”
“Mo-om,” he started, already a little uncomfortable with the line of conversation he had started, and then stopped, hearing Kara again. She was tossing and turning, but at least she wasn’t crying this time. Maybe she just wasn’t used to Earth-style mattresses or something. Who knew what kinds of differences there were between the two cultures? He never thought those kinds of questions might get answered, but with Kara here and remembering Krypton, he could at least ask.
“Clark?”
He almost jumped, having nearly forgotten he was still on the phone. “Oh - sorry. I’ve been keeping an ear open for Kara - she was having a nightmare earlier, I think - and I got distracted.”
“Is she all right?”
He leaned his head into his free hand, his fingers combing his hair. “I think so. It’s been a long day,” he admitted.
“For me as well,” she replied and he could hear the fatigue in her voice. “I should probably let you get some sleep, Mom,” he said.
She yawned almost as if on cue. “I’m a mom,” she countered. “I can stay up and talk as long as you need me, Clark.”
“No,” he said, resigning himself to the end of the phone call. “I’ll let you go. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“You know you can call as often as you want to, Clark,” she said, obviously trying to reassure him. “Or come over. I know how much you enjoy the run. And you should bring Kara with you next time. I’d like to meet her.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to her about it. Maybe this weekend - fewer people, you know?” he suggested. After Kara’s behavior at the Daily Planet, he was hesitant to take her out in public. He needed to teach her a few things first. Hopefully Chloe could help with the girl stuff that still confused him (and if the Justice Bros were to be believed, always would).
“I’m already looking forward to it,” she said. “I love you, Clark.”
He smiled a little. “I love you, too, Mom. Good night.”
“Night, dear.”
They hung up. He sighed as he set the phone down. He might not tire the same way humans did, but he did get tired and sleep would help.
But he balked when he reached the room that had been his parents’ as long as he could remember. There were ghosts in that room.
He grabbed a pillow and a few blankets and headed back downstairs. He paused briefly at the closed door to the other bedroom: Kara was still asleep, and sleeping soundly, he could hear. He continued downstairs and tossed the bedding onto the couch.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to make some changes.
[end]