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All I Want for Christmas...

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  • All I Want for Christmas...

    All I Want for Christmas…


    1. Clark



    Christmas morning dawned cold, crisp, and lifeless. Clark was already performing his chores since farm work knew no holidays. There were cattle to be fed, cows to be milked, and as always, a fence that needed mending.

    The perfect solitude of early morning gave Clark time to be alone with his thoughts, something he hadn’t had much of lately since his mother had come back to Smallville after the end of the fall session of the Kansas State Senate. With Martha had come her ever-present shadows, Lois and Lionel. Lionel, thankfully, was staying in the Luthor Mansion, and Lois was staying in the Talon apartment with Chloe, but they were both here at the farm more often than not during waking hours.

    It’s a measure of how far we’ve fallen in the space of a year, Clark thought. From the light and warmth of Dad and Lana to the self-centeredness of the Wonder Twins.

    Christmas had always been Clark’s favorite holiday, but last year’s had been the all-time best. From time spent delivering presents to deserving families to family time here in a warm and welcoming house, Clark had loved every minute. It had felt like the first of many such Christmases…instead, it had been the last.

    He had lost Lana and his dad on the same day, the blackest day of his life. Sure, the actual breakup with her had come later, but election day was when he had realized she could never be his. It was the day his heart had begun to die.

    Even taking his time, Clark was done with chores and headed back to the house with the morning Daily Planet in hand by the time his mother made it to the kitchen to make a hurried breakfast for two before continuing her extensive preparations for Christmas dinner. He had worked up a mighty appetite and was looking forward to three Western omelets. He could already taste the bits of smoked ham, crisp bell pepper, and spicy red onion surrounded by fluffy scrambled eggs and smothered with melted mozzarella cheese.

    Though he was dreaming about omelets, the first smell he noticed was a brew of rich Hawaiian Kona coffee. One of the side benefits of Martha’s time running the Talon, as far as Clark was concerned anyway, was that she had developed a taste for great coffee, and now, plain, old Colombian coffee would no longer suffice.

    When Clark tried to pour himself a cup of coffee and sit at the kitchen table to read just like his dad used to, Martha shooed him away, insisting he wash up before taking a seat at her table. Clark groaned but grinned as he allowed his mother to herd him toward the bathroom, just like she used to do to his dad.

    Once breakfast was over and he had cleared the table and washed the dishes, Clark knew his further presence in the kitchen would be nothing more than a hindrance, so he looked for something to do, something that would get him out of the house before either Lois or Lionel arrived.

    Swinging by the Talon was out of the question. Clark was already trying to avoid Lois and even seeing Chloe held no interest for him today. She would undoubtedly try to cheer him up before she went off to have Christmas dinner with Jimmy’s family in Metropolis. She’s another person I seem to have lost this year. Last year we were inseparable buddies, now we spend less and less time together.

    Speaking of friends I’ve lost, Clark thought, I wonder what Pete’s doing this Christmas. His dad says he’s engaged to a girl he met senior year in Wichita. I know he comes to visit his dad regularly, but I haven’t seen him since our tearful goodbye. I don’t blame Pete for our separation, once again, I blame me. He just did what he had to.

    Clark shrugged on his tan barn coat and headed outside. “I’m going to go for a walk,” Clark said, being sure to make himself heard by his mother.

    Martha waved an absentminded goodbye as she was concentrating on the Smithfield ham that was about to go into the oven.

    Clark ambled down the hard-packed drive and down Hickory Lane past fields that were covered with a thin skin of snow and ice, the last remnants of a storm a week earlier. He was buried in his thoughts when he realized he had come to a stop. Looking up and seeing he had come to a stop in front of Lana’s old home, he couldn’t help but smile, even as thoughts of her twisted his guts anew.

    From years of careful study with his old telescope, Clark knew the front of that house better than he did the front of his house. The sky blue paint was peeling in places, and the whole house had taken on an air of disrepair. Another thing from my past that is falling to dust…great!

    Soon, he was into town, hands tucked into his coat pockets, and once again he found himself standing still, this time, in front of the Talon. He was relieved to see, from the cars that weren’t there, that Chloe and Lois were both gone. The Talon was closed for the holiday, as were all of the shops on Main Street, allowing Clark to contemplate his past in solitude.

    Lana asked me recently if I ever wished I could go back and do something over, Clark thought. How ironic, since that’s what got us into this mess in the first place. When I had the chance to change the past, I made a mistake. Until now, I thought the mistake I’d most like to change was not telling Lana about me, and about Lex, the second time around.

    But now, I’m thinking bigger. I believe that given the chance, I’d go back to freshman year, right here at the Talon, and keep Lana from ever becoming business partners with Lex. Sure, she would’ve lost the place where her parents met, but she never would’ve fallen into Lex’s orbit. She only would’ve known him through me. That should’ve kept her safe enough.


    Clark had to get away from the Talon and its many Lana-related memories. He wanted to go somewhere quiet and isolated, somewhere he could be alone with his thoughts, somewhere no one else would find him.

    I hear old man Chandler finally rebuilt his windmill, Clark thought, if he kept the platform on top, that should do just fine.
    Last edited by Cardinal; 12-24-2006, 09:42 PM.

  • #2
    nice and interesting start...

    PPMS!!!

    Comment


    • #3
      Great start, Card! Beautifully descriptive. Can't wait for the rest. Poor Clark is feeling so alone, so isolated, so down, missing everyone he's ever been close too - especially Lana. I hope their paths cross soon. PPMS!
      Last edited by SVsleuth; 12-25-2006, 01:16 AM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Well that ended on a rather flat, sad note. I assume that the real action is going to take place on the top of the windmill...


        Comment


        • #5
          2. Lana


          Lana was up early, as was her habit on Christmas. As she slid out of bed, she looked down at her abdomen and patted it lightly. My first Christmas with you, whoever you are, she thought. Racing downstairs to see what Santa had brought her had never been her style since it had always been just her and Nell. With Nell, exchanging gifts had been a quiet affair, broken only by occasional squeals of delight from Lana at a particularly welcome gift. Nell had always dutifully oohed and ahhed over whatever Lana got for her, but the gift portion of Christmas was always over quickly.

          As Lana pulled on a robe and her favorite slippers to head downstairs and get some piping hot breakfast pastries and ice cold milk, she thought how her ‘tradition’ of plastic, store-bought holidays had been brought to a screeching halt last year. Last year, with him, had been a Norman Rockwell kind of Christmas, the kind she had dreamed about since she was old enough to know the difference.

          The Kent house had been filled with friends, most importantly, with love. As she made her way past the library, she peeked inside and didn’t like what she saw: an admittedly beautiful pine tree…that had taken Lex’s staff half a day to decorate to Lex’s specifications; a pile of presents…all wrapped in coordinated paper by the clerks at Neiman-Marcus or some other high-end store; and no stockings hung by the chimney with care.

          Privately, Lana wondered if Lex even knew what was in half of the packages, and the sheer number of presents was ridiculous considering that only two people would be opening them. Still, Lana thought, this is the life I’ll have if I accept Lex’s proposal.

          Once in the kitchen, Lana was halfway through a blueberry scone and her first glass of milk when a member of the household staff handed her a note. It said:



          Lana,

          I was called away on urgent business and won’t be back until tomorrow. I know the timing is terrible, but it couldn’t be helped. Being the C.E.O. comes with responsibilities.

          I promise to make it up to you tomorrow.

          Lex



          Oh, that’s just rich, Lana thought bitterly. He’s going to spend what should be our first Christmas together, at Luthor Corp, leaving me all alone. Apparently I’m not that important to Lex, and yet he claims he loves me and wants me to marry him.

          But the baby, how will I raise the baby without a daddy? And if I did leave Lex, I know he would fight me for custody, especially if the child is a boy.


          Lana was so upset, that it took her a full minute to realize the note wasn’t even written in Lex’s own handwriting. When she did, Lana began to seethe. So much for the personal touch! But what more should I expect from a guy whose Christmas shopping is done by his personal assistant?

          Deciding that keeping her feelings inside could be bad for her baby, Lana raced back upstairs and into some warm clothes before grabbing her purse and heading out into the fresh morning air. She wanted to get away from the mansion to a place where she could freely vent her frustration, a place she could scream and jump up and down without anyone seeing her. She knew if anyone saw her, there was a good likelihood the story would get back to Lex and she knew what he’d think of that.

          Lana knew just the place. The Chandler windmill, which had been destroyed when Evan died, had finally been replaced. She had gone by to take a look after they had completed it because the old windmill had been important to her. It used to symbolize the outside world that had been waiting for me to leave Smallville behind…and then he took me up there, as if to say my dreams can come true. That wasn’t the first time I had felt something for…for Clark, but it had been another important step on our road together. In any case, Christmas morning should be a perfectly safe time to be out there by myself.

          Comment


          • #6
            nice update...cant wait to see what happens next at the windmill??

            Comment


            • #7
              lol a chance meeting on a windmill looking toward the future!!!

              PPMS!!

              MERRY CHRISTRMAS!!!

              Comment


              • #8
                Clark & Lana, thinking alike, both headed for the windmill. Can't wait for their meeting. What will happen? PPMS!

                MERRY CHRISTMAS!

                Comment


                • #9
                  3. Clana?


                  Clark walked along the side of the rutted dirt track that led to the windmill in the middle of the field. He was glad he hadn’t driven out here in his truck. Since the dirt track only led to the windmill, it hadn’t been driven on in days, much less cleared of snow and ice and traction appeared to be iffy at best.

                  Standing at the base of the windmill, Clark used his heat vision to melt the remaining snow and ice off of the ladder before beginning to climb. Once on top he melted the frozen precipitation that remained up there and then looked out toward Metropolis. He remembered the day he had conquered his fear of heights just so Lana could have her wish. He’d always been willing to do anything for Lana…finally tell her the truth to keep her, change the past and lie to save her. All he knew was, he’d do anything to have a chance to save her one last time, this time from Lex.

                  Clark looked up into the sky and said, “I know there are presents waiting for me at home, along with family and friends, though I still don’t know how Lionel Luthor managed to sneak in there, but all I want for Christmas is one chance to make things right with Lana. I admit it, my way was wrong. I surrender. I’ve messed up with Lana too many times to count, but I swear on the grave of my father that if I get this one last shot, I won’t waste it.”

                  With as many wrecks as she has been in, Lana tended to be a cautious driver. Today was no exception. She was happy to discover the roads, even the narrow-shouldered two-lane county roads, had been cleared. Feeling a bit more confident, Lana headed down the road that led to Chandler’s field. Once there, the road turned into the dirt track and Lana continued on. She was able to handle the right hand turn just before the windmill, but as she drew close to the windmill itself on the icy dirt track, she found herself unable to stop. She was headed right for the windmill at thirty miles an hour.

                  Clark had looked up when he saw the car enter the field. He was curious, but figured it was just a Christmas visitor who had gotten lost and needed to get turned around. After all, who’d come to a windmill on Christmas morning? As the car came closer without slowing down, Clark became alarmed and rushed into action. He blurred down the ladder and brought the out of control car to a halt mere inches away from the first support leg of the windmill.

                  There was a brief moment when he could see the driver, but she couldn’t see him since her head had snapped forward and down due to the suddenness of the stop. Clark knew instantly it was Lana. In that moment, he had a choice: disappear and allow her to believe whatever she wanted, or stay and start becoming the man he was meant to be.

                  Clark chose to stay.

                  Lana was in shock. She had been sure she was going to hit the windmill, and then the car just stopped like it had hit an invisible wall. She shook her head and began to look up and received another shock, one that was bigger than being stopped and yet, one that was almost expected. She hadn’t hit an ‘invisible wall,’ she had been stopped by a very visible Clark Kent.

                  Once Clark knew Lana had seen him, as evidenced by her wide eyes and the hand that flew up to cover her mouth in shock, he moved purposefully to her door, silently thanking whoever it was that had granted his wish.

                  “Hi, Lana,” Clark said through the closed door. “Imagine seeing you out here today.”

                  “Uh, yeah, imagine that,” she said distractedly.

                  Clark waited for Lana to unlock her door, then he opened the door and held it for her as she climbed out. First off, Lana went to the front of her car to look, only to see the car hadn’t been so much as scratched by her latest driving adventure.

                  Turning back to Clark, and half expecting him to be gone, Lana asked, “Uh, Clark? It’s not that I’m not grateful or anything, but…um, how?”

                  “I…I can do things.”

                  Things? Such as…?”

                  Clark held open his arms and asked, “Do you trust me?”

                  Lana thought that question coming from Clark should have elicited a laugh. Instead, she felt that something was different today. There was no deceit in either Clark’s eyes or his voice. She had always trusted him with her life. Today she felt it would be just as safe to trust him in other ways as well.

                  Lana stepped into Clark’s encircling arms and said, “Yes, I do.”

                  “Then wrap your arms around me and hold on tight, Lana,” Clark said as he scooped Lana up into the air. “These things are easier to show than to explain.”

                  Once she had settled in, Clark asked, “Ready?”

                  Lana nodded once, wondering what she had gotten herself into, when suddenly there was a great rush of wind, and they were inside somewhere. It took Lana a second or two to regain her bearings and realize they were in Clark’s loft. Clark set her down and said, “I’ll be back in a sec,” and disappeared.

                  I’ve always suspected Clark had great speed, Lana thought, ever since he saved me from Adam. But this is ridiculous.

                  Clark returned in moments holding a pitcher of cold water, two empty mugs, and a canister of hot chocolate mix.

                  “What’s that for, Clark?”

                  “Something to help keep you warm while I tell you…everything.”

                  Lana touched the water pitcher and said, “But Clark, the water in there is almost ice cold.”

                  Clark pulled the pitcher out of her reach and stared at it for a few seconds, bringing the water in the pitcher to a rolling boil. “That’s what you think,” he said, as he carefully measured a serving of powdered mix into each mug and then poured in the water.

                  Lana was looking to see if Clark had brought spoons to stir the hot chocolate with when he stuck a finger into his and stirred it like nothing could be more natural than to place a finger into boiling water. She was horrified and made a move to yank his hand out of the water before he did some serious damage.

                  Clark pulled his mug out of her reach and said, while pretending he had no idea what was making her worried, “What? I washed my hands while I was inside, so they’re clean. Honest!”

                  When Lana saw the heat wasn’t affecting Clark in the slightest, she punched him on the shoulder for making her worry like that. Clark rubbed his shoulder as if in pain, and said, “What is it with women hitting me on the shoulder all of the time?”

                  “Oh, there is no way that hurt you, Clark,” Lana said. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

                  Clark gave up the pretense of being in pain and said, “That’s just another thing I needed to show you. I’m basically invulnerable to physical damage of any kind.”

                  Looking hurt, Lana asked, “Why did you…?”

                  Clark waved her to silence and replied, “The whys come later, Lana. There aren’t really any good reasons why, but I’ll tell you all of them anyway. Right now, I have a few more things to show you.”

                  Seeing Clark’s yummy-looking hot chocolate, Lana held up her mug hopefully, and said, “Okay, now do me.”

                  Realizing how what she had just said could be taken, Lana’s face flushed Christmas red. Clark had caught the curious wording of her request. His expression, for just a moment, said ‘Been there, done that, can’t wait to go back and do it again.’

                  Lana saw that moment of unguarded lust and said, “Oh my God! You…you still want me! You still love me!”

                  Clark couldn’t talk, he wasn’t even sure he could breathe, all he could do is nod his head ‘yes’ to complete the surrender begun on top of Chandler‘s windmill.

                  Comment


                  • #10

                    lol that ending... that made me laugh....

                    This was good!!! well I guess in a way they both will be granted their wish...

                    PPMS Card!!!!
                    Last edited by Nemu; 12-25-2006, 10:51 AM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      LOL - wonderful scene, Card. I love that Clark is finally ready to just be himself with Lana, and let the chips fall where they may.

                      Hope you're enjoying your Christmas dinner with your Mom. See ya later.

                      Thanks for the Christmas story. Hope we'll get more later.
                      Last edited by SVsleuth; 12-25-2006, 11:19 AM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hmm, two updates.

                        No action on top of the old windmill ( ), but still the inducement for change...

                        Lots of confessions, and maybe another Norman Rockwell Christmas Dinner?





                        And to all,

                        MERRY CHRISTMAS!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          lol that was a nice update
                          PPMS!!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Great Story Card! Found it on Christmas! Excited to see the next part!

                            PPMS!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              4. Clana!


                              After stirring Lana’s chocolate with a finger, and taking plenty of time while doing it so he’d have time to think, Clark said, “I never stopped loving you, or wanting you for that matter.”

                              “You lied to me?” Lana already knew the answer, but it was a question she felt forced to ask.

                              “Yeah, I lied when I told you I didn’t love you anymore. I lied every time I had to use my abilities to save you. I can’t even count the lies I’ve had to tell over the years to protect people from my secrets…or in your case, to protect you from my secrets.”

                              Upset and more than a little bit angry, Lana asked, “Didn’t you trust me?”

                              “Trust was never an issue, Lana. For the first three years in high school, I dreamed about telling you, but I was petrified you wouldn’t like me any more. When you told me you were leaving for France, I figured I was going to lose you if I didn’t tell you, so I invited you over for dinner up here in the loft so I could tell you everything.”

                              “I remember that day,” Lana said dryly. “I had gotten my hopes up only to be let down once again. What happened to change your mind?”

                              “Pete.”

                              Lana got a dangerous look in her eyes that made Clark back up a step and raise his hands, palms outward, as if to ward off an attack.

                              “You can’t possibly mean to tell me that I’ve waited all these years for you to open up to me, but that Pete got to know everything. Do you?”

                              Lana waited impatiently, hands on hips, wondering how Clark would try to spin his way out of this one.

                              “Well, Pete kind of discovered something about me that I wasn’t able to lie my way out of…at least, not without losing his friendship.”

                              That had the ring of truth for Lana, so she asked, “What did Pete learn?”

                              “He saw…” Dang, how do I explain this? “Pete saw something I can’t possibly explain, until I tell you about my parents.”

                              Lana pointed in the general direction of the house and asked, “The Kents?”

                              “Nope. My biological parents, the Els.”

                              Perplexed, Lana asked, “The who?”

                              “Nah, the Els. The Who was an English rock band.” Clark held a straight face for as long as he could and then broke into an ear-to-ear grin. As Lana rolled her eyes, Clark made a snap decision. “Come on, Lana. You’re already dressed warmly enough, so once I go get my key, I have something else to show you.”

                              Lana finished off her hot chocolate before hopping up into Clark’s welcoming embrace for another quick trip. Before she could take a second breath, they were standing in what she recognized as the Kawatche caves. Clark led her back to a part of the cave she didn’t remember ever seeing before. It was like a small room and the only thing in it was a large octagonal table.

                              Lana’s eyes grew wide at the sight of it and she immediately recognized some of the runes as being the same as the ones out on the cave walls. “I don’t remember this room ever being here. How did you find it?”

                              “It was left for me.”

                              Lana turned back to Clark and said, completely deadpan, “For you.”

                              Clark stepped to her side and said, “What I’m about to show you may change the way you feel about me.”

                              Lana tried to soothe Clark’s somewhat ragged emotions by saying, “Whatever it is, Clark, it will be okay.”

                              Taking her at her word, and secretly marveling at how much this time was like the first time, Clark stuck his octagonal key into a vertical slot on the table. A golden radiance then shot up from the table, along with a wind that started flapping Lana’s hair all over the place.

                              Lana looked around in wonder as Clark snagged his key and said, “One more time today, I need to ask you. Do you trust me?”

                              Lana needed no time for thought this time, she just stepped close and took Clark’s outstretched hand. Clark moved in close and wrapped his other arm around her in a protective gesture that wasn’t lost on Lana. Then, the two of them were catapulted along a coruscating tube of bluish-white energy.

                              Just like last time, Clark thought, Lana’s looking back and forth like a farm kid on her first trip to the city while my eyes are locked on her. Of course, who can blame her? She’s seeing something she never thought to see in her wildest dreams…and no one can blame me for where I’m looking either, because she’s my wildest dream.

                              Clark’s feeling of déjà vu lasted right until Lana took her first step in the Fortress of Solitude. Clark had let her go and was considering how to tell her about Krypton when she collapsed and fell to the floor.

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