Chlark Fanfic: Agenda, Chapter 30

[babydee1]

Runner by go_clo. 

Title:              Agenda
Author:          babydee1
Pairing:          Chlark
Rating:           NC-17 (mostly PG-13)
Warnings:     None 
Timeline:      Futurefic; follows Season 8’s Injustice & Failsday Doomsday 
Disclaimer:   All known characters belong to the CW & DC comics. 
Summary:     More than a decade after the Doomsday Rampage, Clark makes a shocking discovery that changes his life forever. 
Feedback:      …makes me squee. :-) 
 
Written for the 2011 smallvillebbang  long Fanfic challenge.  Many thanks to twinsarein  for all her tireless organisation and support!
 
Beta’ed by legendarytobes  & The Fallen Sky at KSite.
Art by sylvanelfmistre  & go_clo.
 
 
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
 
Chapter 30
 
 
“My grandma’s awesome!” Gabby said with childlike excitement as she regaled her grandfather with all the details of her first meeting with Martha Kent.  “First day I met her, we got on like a house on fire, and by the time we were leaving Washington, it was like I’d known her forever.”
 
“It pleases me to see you so happy, Kyana,” Jor-El said warmly as he sat opposite her.  “It must be a joy getting to know your family.” 
 
“It is, it really is,” she enthused.  “In just four months I’ve gone from having a Mom and an honorary uncle to having both my parents, Brucie, Grandma Martha and Grandpa Jor-El.”  She clasped her hands together gleefully and grinned.  “My happiness is complete.” 
 
“Not quite.” 
 
Her eyes flew open and she blinked rapidly.  “Say what?”
 
“You’re forgetting your maternal grandfather,” he pointed out quietly. 
 
Gabby’s eyes widened even further.  “Mom’s Dad?” she said in surprise.  “Um…no, I don’t really want to get to know him.”
 
“Why not?”
 
She shifted uncomfortably.  “Because I just don’t, okay?”
 
“That is not a valid reason.”
 
“Well, whatever!” she retorted.  “And why do you care, anyway?”
 
“Because I’ve seen the growth and the change in your life since you met your father, grandmother and myself,” he said.  “Meeting Gabriel Sullivan can only enrich your life, not worsen it.”
 
“Yeah, tell that to my Mom,” she mumbled. 
 
“Whatever issues he has with your mother have nothing to do with you, or what your relationship with him could be,” he said stoically.  “After all, she neither likes me nor trusts me, yet you and I get along very well.” 
 
Gabby sighed and lowered her gaze.  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least curious to meet the person I was named for,” she admitted quietly.  “But I wouldn’t even know where to start.” 
 
Jor-El smiled fondly.  “You are your mother’s daughter, and this is the digital age,” he said.  “I am confident it wouldn’t be too difficult for you to track him down.” 
 
She fiddled with her fingers for long moments and bit her lower lip, a frown marring her brow. 
 
Finally she spoke.  “If…if I do this,” she said softly.  “I risk opening up a world of hurt for my Mom, and I don’t want to do that.”
 
“If you don’t do it, you’ll wish you had,” he replied.  “If you seek him and he rejects you, at least you’ll know.  You have the support and love of all of us to see you through what might be a difficult time.  If he accepts you, it could be the key to healing that last remaining fragment of your mother’s heart that always yearns for her father, as you did for yours.  But you’ll never know unless you make the first move.  You will always wonder what might have been.” 
 
Gabby Sullivan-Kent looked up at her grandfather with a coy smile.  “Are you encouraging me to be rebellious, Grandpa Jo’?” 
 
He smiled indulgently.  “I’m telling you to follow your heart, child,” was the simply reply.  “It’s led you right thus far, and will not lead you wrong if you decide to take up this quest.”
 
“You think so?” she asked in a small voice, and he nodded. 
 
“Love is always worth the risk, Kyana.  Have faith; all will be well.” 
 
***
 
Chloe was setting the table for Sunday lunch when Gabby breezed in.
 
“Hey Mom,” her daughter greeted as she wiped her feet on the footmat.  “Greetings from Grandpa Jor-El.”
 
“I’ll bet,” she muttered under her breath.   
 
“I didn’t miss lunch, did I?” Gabby asked, peering down at the oven. 
 
“No, you just made it,” she replied.  “Although it would have been nice to have had some help in its preparation…” 
 
Her daughter made a face at the pointed jab.  “I’m sorry, Mom, I thought…well, it being Sunday afternoon and all, I figured you and Dad might appreciate some time alone…” she stopped talking and stared at a corner of the ceiling, red with embarrassment. 
 
Chloe smiled and blushed at the same time.  “And we do, sweetheart, but you don’t need to disappear completely every time you think we might want some privacy.” 
 
“Oh, I have to, trust me,” she said grimly, taking the plates from her mother’s hands and helping to set the table.  “My superhearing is stronger than Dad’s, and…well, if I’m sleeping it’s fine, but once I’m awake, it’s hard to…” she trailed off, embarrassed.  “Well, the further away I am, the better,” she finished lamely. 
 
“Got it,” Chloe said, her face bright red.  “Happy we had this conversation.” 
 
“Me, too.  So where is Dad?” 
 
“Duty calls, but he’s promised to be home by the time lunch is served,” Chloe replied with a smile. 
 
“Oh.  Well, that’s good, because I want to talk to you about something…” 
 
At the tone of her daughter’s voice, Chloe felt the blood drain from her face.  “Oh my God, it’s happening,” she whispered in alarm. 
 
Gabby frowned.  “What is?”
 
“Is it a boy?” Chloe babbled on.  “You’ve met a boy, haven’t you?  Oh, God.  Um…okay.  Well…first things first, you need to watch out for your heat vision, because when your Dad---”
 
“Mom!” Gabby interrupted, holding up her hands.  “Mom, calm down, it’s not about a boy.  Actually, it’s about a man, but---”
 
“What?!?” Chloe screeched.
 
“But not the way you think!” Gabby hastily added.  “Just…let me finish.  Please?”
 
Chloe took several deep breaths and forced herself to remain calm.  “Okay.”
 
“Thank you.  As I said, I haven’t met a boy that I like that way yet,” Gabby went on.  “And my heat vision doesn’t work that way.  For girls, it seems to be triggered by anger, not lust.” 
 
“Since you’re yet to meet a boy you like, that theory remains to be fully tested,” Chloe muttered under her breath.  Gabby scowled at her, and she waved her hand in apology.  “Sorry – go on.  You mentioned a man; what man?  Who exactly is all this about?”
 
Gabby clenched her hands together and took a deep breath.  “My grandfather.” 
 
Chloe frowned.  “Jor-El?”
 
Her daughter shook her head.  “No…Gabriel Sullivan.” 
 
***
 
Chloe stared at Gabby in shocked amazement.  “My father?” 
 
The young girl nodded.  “I just wanted to know…what made you two fall out?” 
 
“Why do you want to know now?” Chloe asked, her voice wary. 
 
Gabby shrugged.  “I’m just curious.” 
 
“Is that all it is?” Chloe asked suspiciously.  “Did your father put you up to this?” 
 
“You’re hedging, Mom.” 
 
Busted.  “I know…I know, honey, but I never knew…” she sighed and took her daughter’s hand.  “I never knew you ever thought about my father, Gabby,” she said brokenly. 
 
“How could I not, Mom?” she replied.  “You gave me his name.” 
 
Chloe sighed and gave a shaky laugh.  “So your Dad did put you up to this.” 
 
“No, he didn’t, but why would you think he did?”
 
“He said exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago.”  Chloe sighed, and squeezed her daughter’s hand.  “Gabby, the last time I spoke to your grandfather was the day you were born, and he didn’t think very highly of my decision to have a baby so young, especially when your Dad wasn’t around.”
 
“But that was years ago, Mom,” Gabby argued.  “You’re a successful career woman, and a fabulous mother who’s all but married to Dad now.  I’m sure he’ll think differently.” 
 
“I don’t know, honey,” she replied doubtfully.  “It was my fault he had to leave Smallville in the first place, after that horrible business with Lionel Luthor.  I don’t think he can forgive me for that.”  
 
“Don’t you want to at least find out?”
 
“I’m not ready to take that risk,” she said, rising from the table.  “He’s been gone a long time, Gabby, and we really don’t need him anymore.”   
 
“I think I understand now,” Gabby said quietly.
 
“Understand what?”
 
“Why you didn’t tell me about my Dad,” she replied.  “You thought he was gonna leave us.  In fact, he did leave you before I was born.” 
 
Chloe closed her eyes and sighed.  It was so clear now to see it all laid out in black and white that she was shocked not to have made realised it sooner. 
 
“You’re a smart girl,” Chloe said as she stroked her daughter’s cheek with an affectionate smile.  “That’s a big part of it, yes, but you must understand I didn’t even realise it until your father made the connection.”   
 
“I know how hard everything’s been for you, Mom,” Gabby said.  “But Dad’s here now, and he loves you.  Maybe you should try to find your Dad and get the truth from him about why he stayed away all these years.”
 
“My Dad is a far cry from yours, honey,” Chloe said with a sad smile.  “Clark didn’t know he had a daughter, but my father does, and just doesn’t care.  If you’re interested in hunting him down, be my guest, but I really don’t want anything more to do with him.” 
 
“I understand, Mom,” her daughter said.  “It’s just…” she stopped and swallowed.  “I have one living grandfather that I was named for who doesn’t know the first thing about me.  And then I have Jor-El, a manifestation of my dead grandfather who was desperate to meet me and even gave me a name that inspires hope.”  She smiled.  “It’s nice to know that someone cares that much about me, I guess, and I’m…well, selfish enough to want that from both my grandfathers.” 
 
Chloe smiled and held her daughter’s pretty face in her hands.  “It’s not selfish, baby,” she whispered.  “It’s human.” 
 
“And/or Kryptonian,” Gabby added with a giggle. 
 
Chloe laughed.  “Yes, that too.” 
 
“What is?” asked Clark as he whooshed in the door. 
 
“Your appetite, that’s what,” Chloe said with a wide smile as he kissed her.  “You made it just in time.” 
 
“I promised I would, and I always keep my promises,” he said, chucking her lightly on the chin.   
 
“I know you do.  Now let’s eat this roast before it get’s cold, okay?”
 
“You’ve got two people in the house with heat vision, Mom,” Gabby pointed out smartly as Clark carved the chicken.  “Nuthin’s gettin’ cold in this kitchen.” 
 
***
 
While Clark and Gabby did the dishes, Chloe went to their bedroom for a quick nap.  She lay down and closed her eyes, smiling at the sound of father and daughter chattering happily as they carried out their mundane task. 
 
She was comfortable in the darkened room, but as hard as she tried, sleep evaded her.  She tossed and turned and squeezed her eyes shut, but nothing seemed to work.  With an angry sigh she tossed off the covers and dressed in her warm clothes, then reached under the bed and pulled out the lead box that contained all their family secrets.  She extricated the octagonal disk and slipped it into her pocket, and then she carefully sneaked past the kitchen and into the hallway.  Once there, she grabbed her thickest coat and headed out the front door, remembering to lock the door behind her. 
 
***
 
Chapter 31…