Locked to fever_crusade

[dovelike]

Martha. Do you have a minute?

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[eirenikos]

Eirene's been distracting herself by watching him pace. The wait is been incredibly wracking, especially since there is a huge possibility that Martha won't be thrilled. "Ready." Her smaller hand slides around his anyway.

She doesn't remember to breath until they're standing on the Kents front porch.

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Martha's still finishing up the dishes when they arrive. She and Jonathan spent all of dinner brainstorming, theorizing. They hate surprises.

She flings open the back door, greeting them each with a hug before they can even make it inside. "Come in, come in," she beckons them, then calls out to Jonathan in the barn. "Sit down."

[hero_farmboy]

Martha is hugged back, naturally, and then Clark makes his way into the living room, settling down on the couch and pulling Eirene down beside him.

"You look good, mom. Happy."

[eirenikos]

Her hug follows after Clark's, sticking next to him until they're both comfortable and eying both parents. Okay, fine, Eirene is glancing between Martha and Jonathan, still gripping their son's hand tightly.

"He's right. You're glowing. How are you doing?"

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

"I'm wonderful," Martha says with a bright smile that masks her anxieties over this meeting.

Jonathan nods in agreement as Martha reaches over to take his hand, mirroring Clark and Eirene. "She runs out of the room every five minutes or so to find the toilet, but other than that..." He grins. "Wonderful."

And then all they can do is wait.

[hero_farmboy]

There are anxieties abound, but Clark manages a genuine smile at his parents. He's only ever seen them this happy once before, and he doesn't want to ruin it. Again.

"That's good. Not mom being sick so much, but just... the baby in general. Babies are good," he nods.

[eirenikos]

"Yes, they are," she parrots, resisting the urge to nudge him, and just places her other hand above their clasped ones. If Clark wants to be the one to tell them, there is no way his fiancée is going to ruin it, but her nerves are still unraveling.

"How are you doing, Mr. Kent?"

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Jonathan shrugs his shoulders, turning to smile at his wife. "I'm only as good as this one is, so if she's wonderful, I'm wonderful."

Martha fidgets a little in her seat, studying the expressions of her son and future daughter-in-law. "So," she says, biting her lip. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

[hero_farmboy]

Clark mimics his father, turning to look at Eirene with a smile. "Yeah, I feel about the same way."

And then the reason they came here hits him again and it's back to staring at this lap. Briefly, before he takes a deep breath and look up across to his parents.

"It's kind of a weird co-incidence, or maybe it's something in the water, but, uh, it looks like the family's getting bigger than we thought."

[eirenikos]

He'll get a rather sappy grin from his girlfriend, before she turns back to look at the other couple, and mentally squares her shoulders.

"What we're trying to tell you is..." It's Eirene's turn to inhale, and let out the breath slowly, wishing her hands weren't trembling quite so much.

"I'm pregnant."

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Martha eyes widen, her mouth slightly ajar. Jonathan's hand squeezes hers so tightly that it almost hurts. Her instinct is to turn to him and get a look at his reaction, but before she has a chance to really get a grasp on the situation, a wave of nausea comes over her. She brings her free hand to her mouth, swallowing, then springs up and runs out of the room.

Jonathan watches her go, ignoring his impulse to follow her as she's told him to do in the past, and turns to regard Clark and Eirene a bit uncomfortably. "Her, uh, gag reflex has a real keen sense of timing these days," he says with a nervous laugh. Beyond that, he says nothing. He has no idea how to deal with something like this without her.

[hero_farmboy]

"Looks like," Clark agrees, sharing that nervous laughter with his dad before glancing once again at Eirene. "I wonder if we have that to look forward to."

[eirenikos]

There will be no laughing from this corner, merely a quiet, almost intense gaze. Now that they are really in the moment, her usual carefree nature seems to have deserted the ship.

"I don't know."

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Martha returns after a few moments to a very grateful husband and sits down beside him once more. She takes a deep breath, composing herself again, a steadying hand on Jonathan's knee as she chuckles softly. "My. It's funny, you know, I...I thought I heard you say you were pregnant," she remarks, shaking her head and laughing.

Jonathan looks over at her, raising both eyebrows, his mouth opening and closing a few times without actually saying anything.

And then it hits her. Her laughter immediately subsides, her smile replaced by a pensive frown. "...Oh."

[hero_farmboy]

"Yeah, Clark starts, almost apologetically. "It just kind of happened. We've know for a few days and we wanted you to know first before we told everyone else, because I know how much it means to you to have this... moment."

[eirenikos]

"We're not trying to step on any toes," adds Eirene, hands now folded tightly in her lap. "I didn't mean for this to happen, but it... has. I'm sorry."

And she still has to tell her family about it.

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Martha blinks a couple times, leaning forward to make sure she's really heard them right. Then she stands, slowly pacing back and forth.

She's not sure exactly what it is that bothers her, or what bothers her most. The fact that they're so young and still unmarried, the fact that they weren't responsible (which ties directly into the fact that it was so unbelievably easy for them to conceive, while it had taken her and Jonathan almost twenty-six years), or the fact that they're both pregnant at the same time. She's going to be a grandmother at the same time she's becoming a mother.

"Honey?" Jonathan watches her pace concern. "Can I...do you need something?"

She shakes her haed, flashing him a reassuring smile. "Thank you, sweetheart, I'm fine." She turns to the kids with sigh. "I don't know what to say."

[hero_farmboy]

"I know," Clark replies quietly, only able to watch her pace for a few moments before his gaze falls back down to the floor. "And I know what you're thinking, mom. I do. That's why we wanted to tell you guys first. No one else knows yet." Well, except Chloe. But Chloe's Chloe.

[eirenikos]

Eirene says nothing; this moment seems to be between Clark and his mother, though her hands creep back across to curl around his, offering quiet support. Its probably for the best she says nothing right now, anyway, keeping her gaze down so no one sees the hurt mirrored there.

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Martha paces for a few moments more - fighting unwanted images out of her head - then sits back down beside her husband. "I just..." She shakes her head, covering her face with her hands. "I don't understand."

When she looks up again, her gaze going from one to the other, she sighs. "I'm sorry. This isn't the reaction you were hoping for, is it? And it isn't the reaction you deserve. I'm so embarrassed," she explains. "But you have to understand...having a baby at my age is difficult enough. Having a baby while simultaneously becoming a grandmother...is much more difficult."

[hero_farmboy]

"I didn't really know what to expect," Clark admits, finally looking up again. "I know there's awkwardness about it, but it's not that bad, is it?"

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Jonathan leans forward. "Son, I know it's hard for you to understand where your mother's coming from here. But it's not an easy situation. Try to imagine being our age, having a baby for the first time -being able to for the first time - and then suddenly your child is stepping into the arena and doing it too. That's hard."

Martha nods solemnly at his words, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. "I'm already surrounded by lots and lots of young expectant mothers and now one of them in my daughter-in-law," she says. "I just wish..." I wish you'd been more careful. "Well. Nevermind what I wish."

ooc: i hope it's okay to step in here, this seemed to be directly between the kents. we can go back to your regularly scheduled order now. :)

[hero_farmboy]

Clark sighs. "I think I do understand, more than you both think I do. It's kind of why we've been keeping a lid on this since we found out a few days ago. I know how much this baby - your baby - means to you. I know how long you've wanted this, and I know that this isn't the most perfect timing."

He attempts a smalls mile. "But really, we're only a few months ahead. I mean, it's not like we wouldn't have been trying after the wedding anyway."

[eirenikos]

Eirene still isn't talking, possibly because she's not sure what will end up coming out of her mouth, but also because she's the intruder here and it seems safer to just listen.

Just ignore the tight grip, Clark.

[fever-crusade.livejournal.com]

Oh, Clark. That was so not what either of your parents wanted to hear.

Martha drops her head into her hands as Jonathan squirms uncomfortably in his seat. "Well," he begins, wringing his hands together anxiously and stealing a glance at his distraught wife. "Are you kids...happy with the situation?"