Brave New World: Superman and Lois

Chapter 7

When Clark arrived in Smallville, he immediately headed towards the hospital, where he found a vigil had already been set up for his mother.

"Clark." Lana Lang said to him when she saw him.

"Hey Lana, I guess that word has gotten out about my mom." Clark said and Lana nodded.

"Nearly everyone in town is here. I'm glad you're here too." Lana said.

"I came as soon as I heard." Clark said.

"Go on in. You're pretty much the only person they'll let see her right now." Lana said and Clark nodded.

"I'll let you know when I know something." Clark said and Lana nodded as Clark headed into the hospital.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"What room is Martha Kent in?" Clark asked.

"Are you of relation to her?" the receptionist asked, a bit annoyed, though Clark guessed that was only because he was not the first person to ask that question.

"I'm her son Clark." Clark said as the receptionist looked up to see him.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Kent. But as you can probably guess from the vigil outside, you're not the first person to ask me that." the receptionist said.

"It's fine, but tell me where my mother is." Clark said.

"Room 219." the receptionist said and Clark nodded at her gratefully before rushing towards the elevator at his top human speed.

When he arrived at his mother's room, he took a deep breath before entering it and was relieved to hear her heartbeat and even more relieved to see her awake.

"Ma." Clark said.

"Clark, you came." Martha said as her son rushed forward to her bedside.

"Did you have any doubt that I would." Clark said.

"Of course not." Martha said as she smiled at her son.

"What did the doctors say?" Clark asked her.

"It will be some time before I'm back on my feet and even after I am, I have to take it easy." Martha said as her doctor entered the room.

"Clark, how did you get here so fast?" the doctor asked.

"I was already en route to smallville when you called." Clark said and the doctor nodded.

"Well, the good news is that your mother survived the stroke and as long as she rests and takes it easy, she should make a full recovery, though I have to warn you that another stroke and she might not be so lucky." the doctor said.

"What caused it?" Clark asked.

"Stress. She's trying to run a farm all on her own, something that can't continue." the doctor said.

"It won't. How long are you keeping her here for." Clark asked.

"A few more days to make sure we didn't miss anything." the doctor said.

"Let me know if anything changes and my wife and sons should be here soon. When they do, let them up here." Clark said and the doctor nodded as she left.

"Clark, what do you mean that it won't happen again?" Martha asked.

"I was literally about to call you when I got a call from your doctor. Lois and I are moving our family back to Smallville now." Clark said.

"Why now?" Martha asked.

"Well before it was just because we both got laid off from the Planet, so we can't afford to stay in Metropolis, but now it's also going to be to help you recover and also take over running the farm." Clark said.

"Are you sure about that?" Martha asked.

"I think that everything that's happening right now, they're signs that maybe Metropolis isn't where I need to be. Everything seems to be pointing towards us moving to Smallville." Clark said.

"Clark, you know I'd love nothing more for that. Especially since you can do the work of an entire farm crew yourself in half the time." Martha said and Clark chuckled.

"My powers have their perks." Clark said.

"You should let Lois know that I'm going to be okay. I'm sure she's worried out of her mind." Martha said, since Lois had come to see Martha as a mother figure to her, since her own mother had passed away when she was young and in both realities she didn't have a great relationship with her father.

Clark nodded as he pulled out his phone to call Lois.

When Jonathan and Jordan got home from school, they found their mother on the phone.

"So you're sure she'll be okay." they heard their mom say.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked, alerting Lois to their presence.

"They just got home from school. Yeah, we'll be there soon, give her our best. Love you too." Lois said as she hung up.

"I'm guessing that was dad and he's not away on Superman business." Jonathan asked.

"No he's not. He's in Smallville and we're joining him there." Lois said.

"Why, what's going on?" Jordan asked.

"Your grandmother had a stroke and she's in the hospital." Lois said.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Jonathan asked and Lois nodded.

"Your father said that the doctors say that she'll make a full recovery, but she's going to need help for awhile." Lois said.

"So I'm guessing this means we're moving to Smallville earlier than planned?" Jonathan asked, not entirely thrilled about it.

"Yeah, I know we were planning on waiting until the school year was over, but even before your father got the call about your grandmother, we were already planning on doing it now, since we can no longer afford to live in Metropolis." Lois said.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.

"The Daily Planet got bought out and the new owner put out a massive layoff of their employees. Including your father and I." Lois said.

"So now you guys are unemployed. Great." Jonathan said.

"Jonathan, we didn't ask for this to happen, but we have to adapt to it. Besides, your grandmother needs help right now, not only in her recovery, but also running her farm." Lois said.

"So, should we start packing?" Jordan asked.

"For now just pack for the week since we need to get to Smallville now to check on her. While we're there, I'll start handling you two transferring to Smallville and I know that this will be a big adjustment for all of us, but hopefully it won't be forever. Just until both your grandmother is able to find someone else to run the farm for her and we're all able to get back on our feet." Lois said and both of her sons nodded before heading upstairs to pack and Lois sighed, since she should've known that Jonathan would be a bit more upset about this sudden move than Jordan was. Hopefully once he was given time to adjust to life in Smallville, he'd lighten up a bit.