The sterile, white light of the Smallville Medical Center was a stark contrast to the amber warmth of the Talon. Lana lay in the high-backed hospital bed, the monitors beside her emitting a rhythmic, synthetic chirp that signaled her brain chemistry was finally stabilizing.
The Nicodemus toxin was gone, but the clarity Jeremy had anchored in her mind remained like a low-frequency hum.
…
Clark sat in the plastic chair by the bed, his large frame looking awkward and out of place in the cramped room. He was leaning forward, his face etched with a familiar, weary guilt.
"Lana, I'm so sorry I wasn't there," Clark said, his voice a soft rumble. "My dad... he was in trouble. The doctors said if I hadn't gotten the serum to the farm when I did—"
Lana didn't turn her head to look at him. She stared at the pale green wall, her fingers tracing the edge of the stiff hospital sheet. "I know, Clark. Your family always comes first. I understand."
"It's not that you don't come first," Clark insisted, reaching out to touch her hand.
Lana pulled her hand away, ostensibly to adjust the blanket, but the flinch was unmistakable. "I was terrified, Clark. I felt like my head was on fire. I felt like I was disappearing. And the only person who stayed... the only person who didn't leave to be a hero somewhere else... was Jeremy."
"Jeremy was only there because—" Clark started, his voice rising with a flash of the frustration Jeremy had provoked in the alleyway.
"Because he chose to be," Lana snapped, finally turning to look at him. Her eyes were clear, devoid of the Nicodemus glaze, but they were colder than Clark had ever seen them. "He didn't make excuses, Clark. He just stayed."
The silence that followed was heavy. Clark looked like he had been struck. He opened his mouth to explain—to tell her about the miles he'd run, the deals he'd made with Lex, the weight of the secret he carried—but the words died in his throat. To Lana, those were just more shadows.
…
The door to the room slid open with a soft hiss. Jeremy stepped inside, carrying a small, hand-wrapped bouquet of white lilies—not the prehistoric red of the Nicodemus, but something simple and clean.
He didn't look at Clark. He didn't need to. He could feel the spike in Clark's heart rate, the surge of silent fury that the "Man of Steel" was forced to swallow in a public ward.
"Jeremy," Lana breathed.
The change in her voice was instantaneous. The tension in her shoulders vanished, and a genuine, weary smile touched her lips. She sat up slightly, ignoring Clark entirely as she reached out for Jeremy.
"You should be resting, Lana," Jeremy said, his voice a soothing, dark velvet. He moved to the other side of the bed, placing the flowers on the nightstand. "The doctors say your neural pathways need time to reset."
"I'm fine," she said, her fingers finding his. She squeezed his hand, her gaze locked onto his with an intensity that made Clark feel like a ghost in the room. "Thank you for staying. I remember... I remember everything you said."
Jeremy leaned in, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead. "I meant every word."
Clark stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the linoleum. He looked between the two of them—the girl he loved and the boy who had systematically dismantled his place in her life.
"I'll... I'll come back later, Lana," Clark mumbled, his voice thick with a mixture of grief and growing suspicion.
"Don't worry about it, Clark," Lana said, not even looking back at him. "Jeremy's here. I'm in good hands."
Clark walked out of the room, his footsteps heavy. As the door clicked shut, Jeremy felt a faint, satisfied vibration from the Refined Shard in his pocket. He hadn't needed to use a single ounce of power in this room. He had simply allowed Clark's own "heroism" to become his greatest liability.
Lana pulled Jeremy closer, resting her head against his arm. "He's so complicated, Jeremy. Everything with him is a riddle. With you... it's just quiet."
"The world is chaotic enough, Lana," Jeremy whispered, his eyes watching the door where Clark had disappeared. "You deserve a little peace."