Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Hurt
‘I'm sorry for blaming you, For everything I just couldn't do.
And I've hurt myself by hurting you.’
Hurt- Christina Aguilera
“Hey! How was the field trip? Clark asked the boys with his usual enthusiasm as they came through the door.
“Great.” Jordan replied sarcastically, dropping his bag with a thud.
“Not sure you can call a trip to Smallville caves a field trip.” Jon added with a thoroughly unimpressed air to his tone. “It’s barely 2 miles from school.”
“Jon had more fun than I did.” Jordan said with a smirk. His brother promptly elbowed him.
Jon had separated from the group at one point and he and his “friends” had gone through a steep tunnel they weren't really supposed to. It was damp and probably teeming with mold and bacteria and the walls were jagged and narrow. Let’s just say a girl and a dare were involved and Jon had happily obliged.
“What’s that? Did you hurt yourself?” Clark pointed to the large band aid on the palm of Jon’s hand near his thumb.
“Just a little cut it’s nothing Dad.” Jon sighed as Clark inspected the hand.
“Did you clean it? Those caves are probably full of harmful germs.”Clark responded with a worried tone.
“Yeah one of the first aiders said it was fine, just keep it clean.” Jon shrugged in response.
“Okay, well go put some anti-septic on it please and put a clean bandage on.” Clark insisted.
“Fine.” Jon sighed, he hated being the vulnerable one, one little cut had his father instantly worried. “Sorry I'm not bullet proof.” He said with a little too much attitude.
Clark sighed, a little hurt at the tone. Jonathan’s reckless behavior lately had him really worried.
Jordan shrugged with a sympathetic smile.
“He’s just been extra bitter since he broke up with his girlfriend. He’ll come around, he always does.” Jordan tried to reassure his father. He knew his parents were worried. He followed Jon upstairs and knocked on his open door.
“Hey man, you okay?”
“I’m fine Jordan.” Jon sighed. “I wish everyone would stop asking me that.”
“It’s just you haven’t been yourself lately and we’re just worried that’s all.” Jordan shrugged with concern.
Jon’s face softened a little. “I’m okay, I promise. I just...” He sighed sitting down on his bed. “Feeling a little lost I guess. I don’t know what my place is.”
“With football, relationships or here?” Jordan frowned.
“All of it.” Jon sighed. “It just seems like every time I get somewhere, someone moves the goal posts.”
“I get that.” Jordan smiled. “But I think that’s just part of life.”
Jonathan nodded.
“But hey.” Jordan smiled. “I know you, you’ve always been sure of exactly who you are, I was always kind of jealous of that. None of this...stuff has to change that.”
“Yeah.” Jon sighed. “I guess.” He nodded but he wasn’t convinced. He thought he’d made peace with his place in the family as the “normal” one. He thought it would give him a normal life, but with everything that had happened this year, “normal” wasn’t something his life would ever be, maybe he just needed to except that.
The next morning Jonathan woke up shivering, his clothes were stuck to his body from sweat. His pulse was pounding and he felt short of breath. He looked down to his hand, the area around the band-aid was red and inflamed. He pulled off the bandage and winced as he saw the wound was red and swollen with little red lines emanating from the cut. He gingerly made his way downstairs.
“Mom, Dad? something’s wrong!” he called out to his parents. Still shivering.
They rushed to his side as Jordan looked on from his spot at the kitchen table. Jon held his hand out, and his parents winced.
“It’s infected.” His mother sighed. She reached forward to touch his forehead, he was hot, too hot.
“You’re burning up!” she said concerned. Clark returned instantly with the ear thermometer, a device they hadn’t used on the boys since they were little.
“102.6F” Clark said worried.
“We have to get to the hospital, it could be sepsis.” Lois said with increasing panic. “Go! take him.”
Clark didn’t even let his son object before scooping him up and super-speeding him to the emergency room at Rice County Hospital.
“Jordan let’s go.” Lois called to her other son, who was thankfully already dressed. He nodded, his face full of concern and followed his mother to the car.
When they arrived they found Clark pacing in the waiting room nervously.
“Clark!” Lois said with panic in her voice. He simply hugged her close to him.
“What's going on?” She asked in a small voice.
“They gave him a tetanus booster as soon as we got here, they’ve put him on broad spectrum antibiotics and antipyretics and they took him to surgery to clean the wound.” Clark replied, trying his best to stay calm.
“He’s gonna be okay? Right Dad?” Jordan asked with worry. His brother had always been fit and healthy, this was new territory for them.
“Yes, of course, the doctors are going to help him.” Clark tried to reassure his son.
Around an hour later Jon’s doctor appeared in front of them.
“Mr. Kent? I’m Dr. Parkham.”
“How’s Jonathan?” Clark responded with concern.
“He’s stable, The surgeon cleaned out the wound, she managed to do so without damaging the surrounding tissues and the antipyretics seem to be reducing his fever. Now we just have to wait for the antibiotics to do their job, we’ll monitor him closely and adjust them if necessary.”
“He’s gonna be okay though, right?” Lois asked in a small voice.
“He’s young and strong, I’m sure he can fight this.” The doctor smiled reassuringly. “You can see him now.”
A nurse led them to Jon’s room and all three took a deep breath at the sight of Jon, one hand wrapped up the other with wires and tubes sicking out of it, he was pale and shivering and still groggy from the local anesthetic. This was the most ill they’d ever seen him.
“Hey, bud, how you feeling?” Clark smiled at his son.
“Like crap.” Jon groaned.
Lois took a seat on one side of him and Clark and Jordan sat the other side.
“Doctor said your fever’s improving.” Lois smiled. “You’ll be better in no time.”
“Few day off from school is a bonus right?” Jordan tried to sound reassuring.
“Sure.” Jon sighed his eyes struggling to stay open.
“Sleep baby. We’re right here.” Lois smiled, stroking her sons arm reassuringly.
Around 4 hours later, Lois and Clark were still sitting next to their son. Clark had moved next to his wife and was holding her to try to comfort her, but the fear and worry on his own face was plain to see. Jordan had left to call Sarah and Natalie and update them on the situation.
Jonathan woke up suddenly, coughing and struggling for air.
“Dad, Dad I can’t breathe.” He wheezed out. Lois hit the call button and seconds later doctors and nurses flooded the room. Clark and Lois watched as they placed an oxygen mask over their son’s face and sat him up.
“O2 sats still falling.” a nurse said looking at Jon’s monitor.
“Give him a round of epi.” His doctor said urgently.
Jon gasped desperately, and all the air vacated Clark’s lungs in panic. They watched as their son turned paler and paler.
“We’re gonna have to intubate.” The doctor declared and Lois turned into Clark's side, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
“He’s gonna be okay, he’s gonna be okay.” Clark choked out through tears.
They watched in horror as their 15 year old son had a tube shoved down his throat and was hooked up to a ventilator. The doctor gave them a sympathetic look.
“This will help bring his O2 sats up, we’re playing it safe.” He smiled sympathetically. “He’s stable now.”
The medical team left the room, and Lois ran to her son’s side taking his hand in her own.
“What happened!?” Jordan exclaimed from the doorway.
“They had to intubate your brother, he was having trouble breathing, doctors said it was precaution.” Clark repeated, trying desperately to stay calm.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Jordan said with tears in his eyes.
“Hey come here.” His father hugged him. “Your brother’s strong he’ll be okay.”
‘He has to be’ Clark thought afterwards.