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Healing

Summary:

After a full week at Dave and Beth's house, we see Jon is finally showing signs of improving. He is eating more and getting his strength back. But he is also keeping secrets from the people around him, like how he has changed, and how the sun suddenly makes him feel so much stronger.

Notes:

Hello all!

Welcome back to the next installment in this series. This one is called Healing, and as the title suggests, after a long journey, Jon is finally ready to start healing. But, who says there can't be a few bumps along the way???

Enjoy! Thanks for reading and leave a comment below :)

P.S. Major shout out to my beta BcuzDylanOBrien23 for all her help on the organization with the first few chapters, I couldn't have done it without you!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: After a Week

Chapter Text

Previously…

 

“Kryptonite is the only known substance that can hurt Superman.”

 

“What does that have to do with Jonathan?”

 

“Kryptonite only affects people from Superman’s home planet, which means Jon is biologically related to Superman or he is also from Krypton.”

 

One week later…

 

Beth was nearly finished preparing supper for herself, Dave and Jonathan. Food wise, Jon had made a lot of improvements. He ate something at every meal and usually finished a majority of his plate. Of course his portions were a bit smaller, since they didn’t want to overwhelm his fragile system, but still, he was definitely growing more consistent with his eating habits.

 

Beth preferred to make balanced meals. So for their Friday night supper, she had whipped up some mashed potatoes, green beans, and grilled chicken breasts. She knew Jon would be okay with the vegetables and the chicken would be a good source of protein.

 

After their initial struggles getting him to eat, seeing Jon partake in such balanced, fulfilling meals was rewarding for both her and her husband Dave, who happened to be Jon’s doctor, who had been diligently taking care of him the past week.

 

The problem was, he hadn’t gained much weight back, only about five pounds. When Dave checked yesterday, he was back up to 108. It was an improvement, but not nearly good enough to be considered healthy for a teenage boy.

 

Jon was also gaining his strength back in other ways. Dave was helping him walk around a little more, trying to build back the muscles that had all but deteriorated. The first few days he could barely walk across the room and had gotten frustrated. But with Dave’s gentle reminders and encouragement, he kept working on it.

 

Things improved once Dave started letting Jon walk outside. Not that they walked further or anything, rather Jon seemed more content, more at peace when they were outside. Also, it seemed that Jon's color improved every time he was in the fresh air, as if the sun was giving him inner strength somehow.

 

Even when he wasn’t walking around, Jon had also taken to just sitting outside on the porch. He would do his homework, listen to music or just relax.

 

Jonathan had even taken a few naps on the porch swing. Beth had been worried that he would get sunburned from being outside so much and tried to encourage sunscreen, but Jon hated the stuff, and avoided putting it on.

 

Yet he never got burned, which was strange.

 

Over the past week, Beth had grown attached to the sensitive, polite Jonathan and wished that he could suddenly get better; unfortunately it didn’t work like that. She tried to be patient and remind herself that it would be a process; he had been pretty sick after all.

 

But they had other problems.

 

After his family had left, the past Sunday, Jon  appeared to have sunk into a depression. He rarely smiled, didn’t laugh, only talked when he had to, and often asked to be left alone. 

 

Secretly, Beth wondered if it had something to do with the fact that his family hadn’t been in to see him all week. Sure, they facetimed most nights and  apologized that they were too busy to make the two hour drive. Jon said he was okay with the distance because he wanted some alone time and didn’t want them hovering.

 

But Beth thought it just sounded like an excuse.

 

There had to be some reason that Jon’s demeanor had changed. But no matter how many time Beth tried to talk Jon, he brushed her off, claiming to be tired and needing to rest. The fact that he didn't want to talk to anyone about what was bothering him worried her more than she would admit.

 

Beth glanced over at her husband, who was carrying supper dishes to the table. She couldn’t voice her fears to Dave anymore, because whenever she did he dismissed her worries, saying Jon had every right to be tired, that he was just healing, which took time. They needed to be patient.

 

Beth had just finished setting the table when Jon shuffled in. 

 

“Hi Jonathan,” Beth said, brightly addressing their young houseguest.

 

“Hey guys. This looks really good Beth, thank you.” Jon sat down and began eating his food. As usual, he ate small bites at a time and didn’t really make direct eye contact with them. If Beth or Dave asked a question, Jon would answer, but he didn’t seem willing to volunteer extra information.

 

“I remembered how you said you liked chicken, so I thought it would be a treat for you,” Beth said. She took a seat at the table, Dave did the same.

 

“How’s your homework coming,” Dave asked, cutting up his chicken.

 

“Got it all done.”

 

Dave looked up in surprise. “Even that big physics project?”

 

Jon shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard. All I was doing was calculating the kinetic and potential energy for an array of different…” Jon trailed off, noticing the way Beth and Dave were staring at him. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.” He hastily shoved some green beans into his mouth.

 

Dave took a sip of milk. “Actually it does. You showed me the rubric for that research project and I have to say, you are studying really complex stuff. How did you get it done so quickly?”

 

“I’m good at science. It interests me. Ever since…whatever. I just like it.”

 

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Beth said, placing a hand over Dave’s as a warning to back off since Jon was getting flustered. “Did you have a nice time outside today?”

 

Jon continued avoiding eye contact and nodded.

 

“I thought you might come inside sooner than you did. It got really warm out there this afternoon.”

 

He shrugged again. “It doesn’t really make a difference to me. I haven’t noticed it since I don’t really get hot any more…since you know, I played so much football in the sun over the years.”

 

Jon’s face reddened, as if he was caught in a lie. Beth furrowed her brows. Getting immune to the weather after overexposure was completely plausible, so then why did Jon look so guilty? Realizing he had been under the spotlight long enough, Beth turned the conversation to the antics of some of her coworkers.

 

After a moment she glanced back at Jonathan, who seemed relieved no longer to be talking. For the rest of dinner, Beth kept the conversation between her and Dave, sensing Jon didn’t want to talk.

 

A few minutes later, Jon had finished most of his food and asked to be excused. He slowly shuffled back towards his room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Beth turned to her husband. “See what I mean Dave, it’s just like I was telling you before, something is off with him, I just know it.”

 

“Yes, he’s been through a lot these past few weeks and is trying to gain his strength back. He probably feels a little different because he’s trying to get back to normal.”

 

“Come on, honey, that’s not what I mean and you know it.”

 

“Oh right. Your ‘Jonathan is related to Superman theory’. Sorry, Beth, it just doesn’t make sense.” Dave grabbed a couple of dishes and carried them into the kitchen. Beth picked up a few more and trailed after him.

 

“Why not? You said that Jon was in a lot of pain, and once you removed the material the Kent’s specifically called kryptonite, he improved immediately.” Beth set the two empty plates into the sink and faced her husband. “And like I told you, kryptonite is only dangerous to Superman, or those like him.”

 

“You seem to know an awful lot about this,” Dave commented, walking back into the dining room to get more dishes.

 

The truth was, Beth had always been fascinated by the idea of Superman, of a hero that was from another world and spent his time saving countless human lives, but she didn’t think that admission would help her in this argument. “I have a lot of different patients who have a variety of hobbies. So, I know things, okay?” She continued helping Dave clear the table and tried to remain patient as she explained her theory. “I get that it sounds a bit crazy, but why can’t you even consider the possibility.”

 

Having grabbed all the dishes, they were back in the kitchen now. Dave was loading the dishwasher while Beth put the leftovers in the fridge and tidied up the rest of the kitchen; the way they usually handled dinnertime cleanup. “Well for two reasons,” Dave said, chatting as they worked. “First, we don’t know that it actually was this Kryptonite stuff, or even what it is. That’s just what Lois and Clark called it. Second, that would mean that Jon is…part alien,” Dave said, shuddering.

 

“You’re saying you would feel different about Jon if he was an alien?”

 

“No, I’m saying that I don’t believe in aliens because there is no such thing.”

 

“Dave…”

 

“Yes, I know what the papers say about Superman, being a good alien and all that, but it just seems ridiculous. I’m sure his powers come from some sort of mutation, one that obviously, has nothing to do with Jonathan. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some paperwork to finish up.”

 

Beth looked wistfully after her husband. She had known for years that he didn’t believe in aliens, but figured after all this stuff with Superman lately, that he had changed his tune.

 

Apparently not.

 

Sighing, Beth grabbed a dishrag and wiped down the already fairly clean counter, looking for something to do. He understood her husband’s mindset, really she did, but in this case, the evidence was too overwhelming.

 

The way Jon felt pain from Kryptonite that suddenly disappeared after it was gone…

 

Or the way that Jon was almost inhumanly good at science and was completing his homework in record time…

 

Possibly the most concerning change was the way he could be out in the sun for hours at a time, never getting sunburned or feeling any negative effects from the rays.

 

Most people felt worn down after hours in the sun, but Jon seemed rejuvenated and happy.

 

Beth placed the dishrag back in the sink. Maybe Dave didn’t believe her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on with Jon.

 

Something that had to do with Superman.