“Clark , we are your friends.”
“Then why are you doing this to us?”
“Because Kara’s dangerous without her memory,” said Oliver. “If Chloe weren’t immortal she’d be dead right now, because of Kara.”
“She didn’t mean any harm. She was trying to protect her mate.”
“They’re right,” Kara said. “I am dangerous. But the other people said they took my memories to keep me from being dangerous. You’re saying I’m dangerous because I don’t have my memories.”
“Whoever kidnapped you was lying,” Chloe said. “Neither of you are dangerous, or evil. You’re our friends.”
“Then let us go,” said Clark .
“Okay,” Chloe said.
“Uh, Chloe…” Oliver said, eyeing Clark and Kara nervously. “That’s not a good idea.”
“I’ve trusted Clark from the moment I met him. I won’t change that now.”
Chloe was looking deeply into Clark ’s eyes, and he felt a connection with her that went beyond memory and into the heart. He loved her. She loved him. She was right to trust him because he would never hurt her.
Chloe pushed a series of buttons on the cuffs and they stopped glowing green. At once his strength returned. She did the same for Kara, and they were able to rip the cuffs off as though they were made of flimsy paper.
“We have the answers you’re looking for,” Chloe said. “Stay, and we’ll help you regain your memories. All I ask is that you trust me, Clark, like I trust you.”
Everyone turned to Kara, who was bewildered and edgy. She wanted to leave, but the home she’d made for herself and Kal-El in the forest was no longer safe. They could hide somewhere else, of course, but she wanted the answers Chloe mentioned.
“I’ll stay.”
“You won’t use your powers against us?” Oliver said. He wasn’t as ready to trust as Chloe. Kara didn’t blame him.
“We’ll be good,” said Clark .
His interest turned to the red-haired woman. “Why are you crying? Who are you?”
“This is your mother,” Chloe said.
“My mother?” Clark said, smiling broadly. He approached her slowly, and Martha opened her arms to him.
“I’ve been very worried about you, Clark,” she said. She wrapped him in her arms, and he picked her up, hugging her.
“Why?”
“Because I love you,” she said. “Now set Mom down.”
He put her back on her feet. “Do I have a father?”
“You did, but he died a few years ago,” Martha said. “His name was Jonathan. I have a picture of him.”
She went over to a bag and pulled something out. Opening it, she showed him a picture of Clark, herself, and a man. She stood between Jonathan and Clark, looking young and happy.
“Do you have more of these images?” Clark asked.
“Lots more, back at home.”
“Where is that?”
“A few miles from here. Shouldn’t we take Clark and Kara to the farm?” Martha looked to Chloe and Oliver. “There’s more room there, it’s much more private than this apartment.”
Oliver nodded. “I agree. We should go now, while it’s still dark out.”
“Why? What are you worried about?” the blond man, AC, asked.
“The 'bad people' Clark and Kara talk about. I’m thinking they’re with Luthor. We can set up a perimeter around the farm. If we have to fight, innocent people won’t get caught in the crossfire.”
Clark and Kara rode with Martha in the back seat, while AC and Victor followed in another car. Chloe turned several times to look into the back seat at Clark, which made Kara uncomfortable…and jealous. Oliver noticed Chloe’s interest in Clark too, and Kara noted his jaw clenched every time.
The car pulled out of town and accelerated. It was a terribly slow means of transportation, but it gave Kara time to think of all she’d learned recently. Some human’s, while unlike her and Clark, were different from others. Chloe couldn’t be killed, at least not easily. Kara was glad for that. The weight of guilt when she’d believed she’d killed Chloe had almost destroyed her. All she could think of was how helpless Chloe was compared to her. She would have to be very careful of the humans in the future, lest she hurt one of them again.
The car finally turned into a driveway that led to a house with another big red building and some tall metal structure around it. She knew the structures to be named house, barn, grain silo.
“There are cows here, and horses,” Clark said.
“Yes,” Martha said, patting Clark ’s hand. “You remember?”
“Yes. I don’t know why.”
“You used to help your father and I take care of the cows and horses.”
They were led into the house, and Martha offered to take Clark to his old room. Kara moved to follow, but Martha looked uncomfortable.
“I don’t think the two of you should stay in the same room,” said Martha.
“Why not?” Clark asked.
“It’s not appropriate,” Martha explained.
“How come?” asked Kara.
Martha looked at a loss for words, but Chloe spoke up. “Human traditions and customs go against the two of you sleeping together.”
“Where is my family?” Kara asked suddenly.
No one answered, and that worried Kara.
“Well?”
“Your family is dead,” Oliver answered. “You’ve only got one cousin left.”
Kara looked at Clark . Several times since she laid eyes on Clark she thought the word cousin. Was he her cousin?
“A cousin is the child of an aunt or uncle,” Kara said slowly, as though trying to recall facts she’d learned a long time ago and hadn’t revisited or used since. “An aunt or uncle is the sister or brother of a parent.”
“Yes,” Chloe said. “Clark is your cousin.”
“He’s family?” Kara said. For some reason she had a terrible sinking sensation in her stomach. No one was looking at them now. Instead their eyes were downcast, as though embarrassed, or out of pity.
“Yes,” Chloe said.
“Family shouldn’t mate, should they?” Kara asked.
Chloe nodded. “No, you shouldn’t. It’s wrong. It’s called incest.”
“We’ve been bad?” Clark asked, bewildered. It broke Chloe’s heart, how innocent and child-like he was now. What if they couldn’t restore Clark and Kara’s memories? Would either of them ever be the same?
“You didn’t mean to be,” Chloe said. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Oh, no…” Kara said, as the full impact of what incest was hit her. “I understand now. I know what a cousin is. The things we’ve done!”
She was gone in the blink of an eye, but they could hear her on the back porch, retching.
“I’ll check on her,” Victor said solemnly, and left for the kitchen. They could hear Victor’s voice, soothing but indistinct, as he tried to comfort her.
“I don’t get it,” Clark said. “Why is it bad for Kara to be my mate? So what if she’s my cousin.”
“Mrs. Kent , may I show Clark to his room?” Chloe asked.
Martha nodded, her eyes red and moist with unshed tears. Unseeing of Oliver’s hard expression, Chloe took Clark ’s hand and led him up the stairs to his old room, which was exactly as he’d left it when he disappeared over two months before.
“Anything ring a bell?” Chloe asked, shutting the door behind her. “Everything in here belongs to you.”
“It does?”
“Yes. This is where you used to live.”
Chloe laughed. “You used to drive Lana nuts with that.”
“Lana?”
Chloe picked up a photograph and handed it to him. “She was your…mate.”
“Kara’s prettier,” Clark said dismissively, throwing the picture onto the floor in the corner. “So are you. I like the blond hair.”
He sat on the bed and looked at her. His eyes traveled the length of her body, and in that moment, when the lust was blatant, Clark didn’t seem so child-like.
“If I can’t be with Kara, I’ll need a new mate. I want you.” He held out his hand. “Come to me.”
Chloe blinked and shifted on her feet. “Um…Clark …”
“I know you want to mate with me. I can smell it, and hear your heart beat faster. I know you’ve always wanted to mate with me.”
“How would you know that?”
“I’m sure you’re extremely virile, Clark ,” Chloe said, sitting down in a chair across from him, “but we can’t just have sex.”
“Why? It feels good.”
“I know, but it’s complicated. I’m…Oliver’s mate now.”
Chloe tried to gather her thoughts. She tapped her foot nervously as she did. “You were always in love with Lana, Clark . You didn’t want to be with me.”
“I don’t believe that. You’re pretty, and you wanted me. How could I not want you back?”
Chloe shrugged. “That’s how it was.”
“Now you’ve found another man to be your mate.”
Chloe nodded. "Yeah."
It’s not like she wouldn’t have died to take him up on the offer, but Clark wasn’t himself, and Oliver had wanted her when Clark hadn’t. He still did want her, and she knew she was over Clark enough to finally move on. As far as she was concerned, she and Clark were two ships who passed in the night, and she was okay with that.
“I can’t be your new mate. And neither can Martha,” Chloe added hastily.
“I know Martha couldn’t!” Clark said, looking insulted. “She’s my mother. I just don’t understand why it’s so bad for cousins to be together.”
“You will,” Chloe said.
And when you do, I pity you.
She pitied Kara, who was somewhere downstairs agonizing over the mistake she’d made with Clark . She was about to excuse herself to go back downstairs when Clark suddenly grabbed her, scooping her out of the chair and putting her onto her back on the bed. He slid his tongue smoothly into her mouth and gave her what was probably the best kiss she’d ever had in her life. Chloe felt her body beginning to respond, her fingers wrapped into his hair and before she knew it she was kissing Clark with all she had.
But then she remembered Oliver, even with her mind fogged with a haze of lust and need, and she pulled away. “No, Clark , let me up. We have to stop this.”
“Why? I know you want me, I can tell.”
“I told you, I’ve got a mate, and if he sees this I’m in big trouble.”
She pulled herself away from Clark , getting to her feet, but it was too late. Oliver had opened the door and was looking at her with cool eyes.
“Ollie, wait, I can explain—”
Oliver shook his head, not wanting to hear it, and pulled the door shut on Chloe’s explanation.
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