Chapter Text
After a crazy couple of weeks, Candice was pleased to admit that the rest of the Sunday visit was uncharacteristically peaceful. Once he finished the soup, Jon was perfectly fine with having everyone come back into the room.
Much like before, when he had first gotten sick, Candice made a conscious choice not to treat Jon any differently when she saw him again. She had advised his family to do the same thing, knowing it would make the situation easier for Jon. They were trying, but after coming so close to losing him, it was difficult.
So, Candice led by example, showing them further proof it was okay to act normal around Jon. She took the seat closest to him and casually took his hand. Even though the past few days had been a whirlwind of pain and confusion, Candice saw how Jon visibly relaxed at her touch, which proved her instincts had been spot on.
There were some awkward moments at times, when Jon’s family didn’t know what to say, but between Dr. Miller, his wife, and Candice, they were able to easily keep things pretty well smoothed over. Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells, doing whatever they could to keep the peace and get through the remainder of the visit. Jon took a few naps too, which allowed the Kent's time to talk with Dr. Miller about Jon’s future at his house. At least that’s what Candice assumed they talked about; she never left Jon’s side.
Jordan and Natalie were around quite a bit as well, but were careful not to hover too much.
Natalie Irons.
Now there was an interesting character. Candice had seen her at school and was aware that she was new to Smallville, but hadn’t taken the time to get to know her.
When she first arrived, all concerned about Jon, Candice was curious about her relationship with him. Lois had said she was like Jon’s sister. At first, Candice didn’t buy it, but after watching Natalie with Jon, she had to admit that was a fair assessment.
The girl was easygoing, helpful, and made Jon laugh with a few funny jokes. She also looked at Jon with a fondness that seemed to go beyond friendship. Then there was the way she stayed physically close to Jordan and Lois, as if she fit right in with the family.
Lois and Clark were obviously doing their best to stay in control, but Candice didn’t miss the intense gazes between them when they thought no one was looking. More than once she wondered just how much they knew about the strange, dangerous medicine Jon had been given the day before.
Since Jon had made vast improvements throughout the day, the Kent’s had decided to head home on Sunday evening. Beth had made Jon a nice turkey sandwich for supper. So, it was time for everyone to say their goodbyes, so Jon could eat.
Natalie was up first.
“Alright, listen here, Kent, you better hurry up and get better quick, okay. I’m getting tired of beating only Jordan at Madden.”
Jon chuckled. “I’ll do my best.” Natalie leaned down, gave him a quick hug and affectionately kissed his cheek.
“Well, I’m kind of out of practice with the whole video game thing, but I still want you to hurry up and come home,” Lois said, taking a seat on the side edge of the bed. For the first time in a while she felt tears gather at the corners of her eyes.
“Come on, Mom, don’t cry, I’ll be home soon,” Jon said. Even though things hadn’t been perfect between them lately, he still hated to see his mom cry. This time Jon reached up and pulled her in for a hug.
Incredibly touched, Lois returned the gesture. She ran a hand through her son’s soft, golden curls. After a nap earlier that afternoon, Jon felt good enough and had taken a quick shower. Lois pulled back and took a good look at her Jonathan’s face. There was still a ways to go, but he looked good. “Enjoy your supper, get some sleep, and call me tomorrow okay?” Lois kissed Jon’s cheek and moved aside. Clark took her place.
“Hey son, how are you feeling?”
“Fine Dad,” Jon said, rolling his eyes slightly. Clark had always been overly protective of his sons. Most of the time it was annoying, but in front of everyone, it was just embarrassing. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m always gonna worry about you, Jonathan. I’m your dad, it’s my job.” Clark noticed the jaded look that crossed his son’s face and altered his approach. “But, I also think that you are strong enough to do anything you set your mind to.”
Jon raised his eyebrows in surprise at the blatant compliment from his dad, since he didn’t get them all that often. “Wow, thanks, Dad.”
“You’re welcome.” Clark gave Jon one more intense look, as he often did when he wanted to make a point. “You’ll be back at home before you know it. I love you Jonathan.”
“Thanks Dad, love you too.” Jon didn’t hold back when Clark pulled him in for a hug. Things weren’t perfect between them, but Clark was still his dad, and had been there for him when things got tough.
When it was Jordan’s turn he kind of hung back, as if he wasn’t sure what to say or if he should even approach his brother. Jon realized he needed to break the ice. “I’m not gonna bite, you know.”
Jordan offered a slow, small, smirk. His twin always knew just what to say in tough situations and how to help him relax. “No, maybe not,” Jordan agreed. “But, you might kick me.”
The blonde twin looked appalled at the suggestion. “What? Name one time.”
“Every time we have dinner. You wait until Mom and Dad aren’t looking, and then you kick me under the table.”
Jon froze, surprised that Jordan would call him out in front of everybody. “Well, okay, that…might be true, I guess,” he said, trying to be casual, hoping his chill attitude would make Jordan more comfortable.
“You guess? It’s totally true, man. You’re always messing with me.”
“Aw come on, you love me and you know it.”
Jordan’s eyes widened then softened as he took in Jon’s words. “Yeah, I do.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but overcome with emotion, rushed out of the room.
“I’m gonna go check on Jordan,” Lois said. “I’ll see you tomorrow Jon.” She went after her other son, knowing he was probably upset about the way he had left things with his brother. No one else knew what to say, so Candice broke the silence.
“Hey, guys, I know we have to leave soon, so do you mind if I have a couple minutes with Jon.” Everyone agreed. Jon’s family members said goodbye one more time, while Dave and Beth promised to be back soon with Jon’s supper.
“Finally,” Candice said, leaning seductively over her boyfriend. “I thought we would never be alone.” They didn’t have long, since Clark made it clear he wanted to get back to Smallville. Candice had no intention of wasting any of the precious time she had left with Jon. She kissed him passionately and pulled his thin body close to hers. Candice gently stroked his cheeks, then his hair, unable to get enough.
Cheer camp had been fun, but Jon was so weak that he only texted a couple times and Jordan’s messages were just as infrequent. She had been worried to say the least, and the situation that she walked in on was worse than she could have imagined.
They almost lost Jon.
No one was talking about it, but it hung over the room like a black cloud. Because if Jon died, that’s exactly what it would have felt like.
The reminder of what she almost lost was too painful. Candice pulled back and turned her head away so Jon wouldn’t see the tears forming.
“Babe, are you okay? Wait, are you crying?” Jon gently put his hand under Candice’s chin and twisted it towards him. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, it’s nothing.” She wiped the tears away and pasted a smile on her face. “I’ll be fine.”
“Candice, tell me, please,” he gently prodded, taking her hands.
“It’s just…I was so worried that we were going to lose you.”
“Babe, I’m fine, I was always gonna be fine.”
“Well, I mean that’s what I hoped for. I tried to stay strong, for you. But it was so hard to stay hopeful, especially as the 24 hour mark got closer and closer.”
Jon furrowed his brows in confusion. “What do you mean the 24 hour mark?”
“That’s what your dad and Dr. Miller said. They told us that we would have answers 24 hours after they started the strange medication your dad brought. We would know if you were going to live or if it killed you within that time. It was so hard just to sit here, waiting and watching.”
Could she really be telling the truth? Had they really administered medication that would either kill him or save him, without even talking to him about it first? He was only sleeping, why didn’t they wake him up? Didn’t anyone care what he thought?
“I bet,” Jon whispered. “Why didn’t you guys wake me up?”
“We wanted to, but Dr. Miller and your dad said there wasn’t time.”
“Yeah…yeah, that made sense.”
No! It didn’t! Dr. Miller and his dad worked together, behind Jon’s back, making a big decision about his health and his life. Jon thought they were done with those kinds of secrets; apparently not. He felt his heart breaking. Once again, Jonathan was betrayed by the people that were supposed to love and care for him the most.
~~~~~
“We’ll check in tomorrow,” Clark said, his hand gently on Lois’ back. The kids were already piled into the suburban, while Lois and Clark were chatting on the front porch with Beth and Dave. “We might stop by. I’m not sure yet, but we’ll let you know.”
“If not Monday, then Tuesday, for sure,” Lois insisted.
“That should be fine,” Dave said, finally relaxed. He was resting his arm around Beth’s shoulders, glad that she had been his support system through this whole crazy situation. “Jon is doing so much better. We still have to get his strength back, but I’m optimistic. It was touch and go there for a while, but you really saved the day with that medicine.”
Clark chuckled. “Maybe, but you saved the day first when you noticed the Kryptonite in Jon’s blood that was causing him so much pain.”
No one else noticed that Beth’s face paled at the word kryptonite.
“Let’s just say it was a team effort,” Dave said, giving them both the credit they deserved in saving Jon. Even though his arm was around Beth’s shoulder, he was too engaged in the conversation to feel the way she tensed up.
Clark was enjoying finally being on the same side as Dave and that they were united, that he didn’t realize Beth’s heartbeat had started to increase and that she was staring intently at him, as if trying to piece together a puzzle.
A few more pleasantries were exchanged, and the Kent’s pulled out of the driveway and headed back for Smallville. “Should we go check on Jon?” Dave asked the question casually. But when Beth didn’t answer, he finally realized that something was wrong. Her face was a pale, ashen colored and her pulse was erratic. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Did he say that…you found…Kryp…Kryptonite in Jon’s blood?”
“Yeah? Why?”
Beth could only whisper as she tried to process what she just heard. “And you said that it was causing Jon a lot of…pain?”
“Yes.” Dave had gone full doctor mode. “He began to improve the minute we removed the stuff. Beth, what’s going on? What’s the big deal? Do you know what this stuff is?”
Still in shock, Beth nodded. “It’s the only known substance that can hurt Superman...only Superman.”