Chlark Fanfic: The Fallen Sky, Chapter 21

[babydee1]

Title:              The Fallen Sky
Author:         babydee1
Pairing:          Chlark, Oneshot
Rating:           NC17 (this chapter PG)
Timeline:      Season 8 (Hex - Doomsday) Season 9 (My version)
Disclaimer:   All characters belong to the CW & DC comics. 
Summary:     Months after walking away from her in Doomsday, Clark returns to Chloe…but finds that she’s a changed woman from the one he left behind.
Feedback:      …always welcome. :)

Amazing banner by ellashy.


Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.


Chapter 21
Ambush


“Oh, God.”  Martha Kent reached for the nearly empty box of tissues and dabbed at her teary eyes.  “I’m so sorry, Clark.” 

Clark reached across the small table and squeezed his mother’s hand gently.  “Me too, Mom.  Me, too.” 

“I can’t even begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now.  Such a monumental loss for both of you; and poor Chloe…”  Fresh tears fell, and she pulled more tissues from the box.  “I wish she’d come to me.  I’d have been there for her.  Maybe if I’d called—” 

“No, Mom,” he said sternly.  “Don’t even think it.  I’m not going to let you blame yourself for any of this.” 

“And you?” she challenged.  “I can see what you’re doing to yourself, Clark.  None of this was your fault.”

A painful yearning gripped his heart, and he shook his head.  “I should have been here, Mom,” he said resolutely.  “Not stuck up north in some stupid Fortress.” 

“You were trying to make sure you were well-equipped to keep Chloe and this world safe in case anything like that Doomsday creature attacked us again,” she said gently.  “That wasn’t a bad thing.” 

“But Chloe and needed me here; my son—” he paused, his voice breaking with emotion. “My son needed me here.” 

“You didn’t know Chloe was pregnant,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.  “Nor did you have any idea you could even father children with someone with different DNA than yours.  I’ll say it again, Clark: beating yourself up about this won’t bring back your baby, nor will it heal Chloe.” 

Clark closed his eyes and sighed.  “I don’t know what to do, Mom.  I don’t know where to go from here, or what to do…I’ve learned all I’m ever going to learn from the Fortress.  So what now?  What’s next for me?” 

“That’s the beauty of a clean slate, Clark; you can do and be whoever you want,” his mother replied.  “The Farm’s still there if you want it, but I know that’s never been your calling.  What would you have done if you’d stayed here?”

He thought about that for a minute.  “Probably finished college and worked at the Daily Planet with Chloe,” he said after a while.  “Strange…but right from when we were kids, long before we became intimately involved, I’d always imagined working alongside her.” 

“Hmm,” his mother said thoughtfully.  “And where is she now?” 

“She’s a reporter again, back at the Daily Planet.” 

“The Daily Planet?” she echoed, her eyes widening.  “Well, well.  I couldn’t have prayed for a better silver lining.” 

Clark blinked.  “Huh?”

“You’re looking for work, correct?”

“Yes, of course, but—”

“And you’re looking for a way to get Chloe back to the beautiful young woman we both know and love?” 

“Yes, but what do you—” Clark’s abruptly stopped, and his jaw dropped as realisation dawned.  “You want me to get a job at the Planet?”

His mother folded her arms and smiled.  “It’s the best way to keep an eye on her and try and get to know her again.” 

“Not likely,” he said miserably.  “Even if I did get in, aside from the fact that Chloe’d rather eat glass than see me every day, she’s not a basement-dweller anymore.  We’re not likely to share the same workspace, and she’s certainly not going to seek me out for anything work-related or otherwise.” 

Martha raised a brow.  “She would if she had to.” 

“But she doesn’t have to, Mom.  Nor does she want to,” he finished. 

His mother gave his hand a reassuring pat.  “Don’t lose faith, son.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Clark’s eyes narrowed as she reached for the telephone and started to dial a number.  “Who are you calling?”

Martha smiled.  “Just an old friend.  Now, shush.” 

***

“A fine woman, your mother.”

Clark waited patiently as Perry White, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet, thumbed through his scant resume.  He cringed, painfully aware of his lack of qualifications and training for any job here worth its substance.  Coming to the Daily Planet, cap in hand looking for a job, didn’t appear to have been such a good idea. 

“My biggest regret to this day is that it didn't work out between her and me,” Perry was saying wistfully.  “But there's always hope.” 

Clark swallowed and tried not to look as uncomfortable as the idea of his mother and Perry White together made him feel.   “She seemed to think you might have an open position for me here,” he said, steering the conversation towards more official matters.  “I know I don’t have the requisite qualifications for full-fledged journalism, but I’m happy to start at the very bottom and work my way up—”

“Don’t you worry about the fine print, young man,” Perry said dismissively, dropping the resume on the desk.  “I recall you having integrity and a strong work ethic as a boy, and your mother assures me this hasn’t changed.  Plus, I still owe you that favour, don’t I?”

“I appreciate your generosity sir, but please be assured that I’m not after any special treatment,” Clark insisted.  “As I said, I’m more than happy to start small.” 

Perry steepled his fingers together and nodded.  “Very well.  Here at the new and improved Daily Planet, Mr Wayne is committed to developing top talent from within the organisation.  The best way of doing that is to ensure effective training of promising young staff members who have the learning, the will and the drive, but not the experience or the grit to cut it in the actual field of journalism.  Thus, we launched our own internal mentoring program, which has yielded fantastic results so far.”

“I see,” Clark replied.  “How does it work, and how can I get involved?” 

“I’ll assign you to a senior reporter who’ll supervise and train you on the job,” Perry replied.  He drummed his fingers impatiently on the desk.  “Hours are unpredictable, as is the work content, and if you land the wrong type of story, it may just cost you your life.  But such is the world of reporting, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

“I understand sir, and I’m ready and willing to do whatever it takes to prove my metal here,” Clark replied gratefully.  “Thank you so much.  I hope I can one day find a way to repay you for your trust and your kindness.” 

“Oh, don’t worry about payback,” Perry drawled, his eyes twinkling.  “Virtue is its own reward, and I have a very virtuous reward lined up, trust me.  But enough of that.  You ready to meet your supervising officer?” 

Clark  sat up straighter in his seat.  “I start right now?  Today?”

“Today’s as good a day as any,” his new boss said matter-of-factly.  He finally stopped fidgeting and reached into his pocket for a stick of nicotine gum.  With his other hand, he pressed one of the many buttons on the desk intercom and barked into it. 

“My office, Kid.  Pronto.”  

Kid.  From the sound of it, he was to be paired with some fresh-faced frat boy with all the right letters after his name and all the right connections to get ahead in the corporate world.  Clark’s heart sank.  He was genuinely upset not to have been paired with a seasoned senior journalist, as he really was interested in learning the business side of things — preferably not from a wet-behind-the-ears college graduate who felt entitled to the whole world, and then some.  But he would work with the rookie if he had to; the last thing he wanted was to appear ungrateful to either his mother or Perry for this opportunity. 

“How long has my mentor been working here?” Clark asked politely as they waited.

“Longer than you.” 

Well.  That told him nothing.  Clark twiddled his thumbs and waited for his superior to appear.

The office door creaked slightly behind him as it was pushed open, and then shut again.  Clark took a deep breath and steeled himself for the introduction to such an individual. 

“You wanted to see me, Chief?”

Clark froze at the sound of that voice.  No way…

Perry leaned back in his chair and smiled at the incoming staff member.  “Glad you could join us, Kid.  I’d like you to meet your new partner.”   

Clark swallowed hard and got to his feet, then slowly turned around. 

“Hello, Chloe.” 

***

To be continued…