The farm grew up out of the pale green hills as if it had always been part of the scenery. The house itself was a beautiful brick, the colours being the hues of the land herself, rustic brown striations on grey rock. It was any kids dream. It ran on for acres and had a plethora of animals stationed at every few clicks. It was only home to one woman now though, one too old and heartbroken to enjoy the vast beauty of such a place as well as maintain it.

Silvia trudged up the long driveway, a sack of clothes strapped to her back the whole way up. The sky stood as an inky canopy, swallowing her entire being and only leaving a few stars behind to guide her to the house.

She still remembered the sickening feeling in her stomach the moment she knocked on the door, and how it intensified when the wooden slab was swung open. She wasn't sure if Martha even approved of her, let alone wanted to see her. Any doubt vanished from her mind though when Martha collapsed in her arms, the very sight of her sending the woman into a ferocious cycle of grief.

Martha sobbed into her chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her jacket. Silvia held the woman in silence, rocking her slowly as tears soaked her chest. A tiny lapse let Martha pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before she collapsed again, her howls of misery worsening. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling her back into the outstretched arms of her losses.

Silvia tried to stay strong for the woman, holding herself upright and refusing any sobs to choke from her throat. Holding the pain back only made it worse, and eventually she couldn't stop her own stray tears from trickling down her cheeks. Her lip quivered and a whimper soon followed. She quickly bit it back, focusing all her energy on supporting Martha's weight. If she lost herself to the sorrow as well then she would surely lose all physical strength.

"My boy... my sweet boy..." Martha cried between bursts of sharp gasps and sobs. "They're gone... they're both gone..."

Silvia felt her breath hitch at the effort it took to not break down. Martha probably hadn't had anyone to hold her through her mourning, or to listen to her bawl. It was once Jonathan's job, then Clark's, and now the responsibility fell to Silvia. She rubbed the woman's back and let her weep for the family she had lost, every single wail like an icy dagger piercing her heart.

It was at least an hour later before they both made it back inside, but Martha seemed happy to have Silvia there. She had even given her Clark's old room, though this only reminded Silvia that he was gone.

It was exactly how she would picture Clark's childhood room to look. The small bed had been swapped out for a large one for the occasions he visited as an adult, but the rest of the room had been left largely untouched. There were framed pictures of his school friends, a football nestled in the corner, and a few awards onto of the wardrobe.

The majority of them were given for 'participation'. Not one of them was a gold medal or a first place ribbon. It just proved that Clark had always been a humble, selfless person. It must have been difficult having the ability to come first but needing the restraint to come last.

"It use to annoy him." Martha's voice suddenly spoke from the doorway. "Having to hold back his powers."

Silvia turned her attention towards the small, fragile woman as she shuffled into the room. "I'm sure it did."

"Him and Jonathan argued a lot when he hit puberty. Clark thought his father was holding him back, and that we were ashamed of his gifts." Martha took a seat next to Silvia on the edge of the bed. "More than once he insisted that we just tell the world and be done with it."

Silvia's brow wrinkled. "Why didn't you?"

"Because we knew that's not what he really wanted." Martha smiled, it was sad and didn't quite reach her eyes but it was enough to put Silvia at ease. "He just wanted to use his powers to help people without the fear of being rejected by the world. He wanted a normal life, but he also didn't want to ignore that he could make a difference."

"So you came up with the secret identity idea instead?"

Martha shook her head. "We came up with that when he moved to Metropolis. Smallville... Well, Clark struggled to find his place while he was here."

Silvia froze, eyes widening and breath stopping altogether. "W-Wait... So the people here know?... I mean, if he didn't start wearing glasses until he moved away, they'd recognise him wouldn't they?"

Martha patted her shoulder and shrugged. "Some might know, others might not. It's a small town and a close community, even if they did know, it's not something they would reveal."

Silvia's posture slumped forward and she rested her elbows on her knees. Trust didn't come easily to her and the idea of the whole town knowing such an important secret made her feel uneasy. "I hope you're right..."

"They haven't told anyone so far." Martha replied confidently. "If they had, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Silvia was still unsure but nodded regardless. She supposed the people of Smallville deserved more credit than she was willing to give.

"Apart from that though, he didn't trust many people with his secret identity directly." Martha shuffled a little further onto the bed. She looked like the world had fallen around her and she had to bare all the weight. "When he allowed you to see him as he was... That was the moment he knew he wanted you in his life forever."

Silvia shivered at the memories this brought up. Ones of her treating Clark with hostility and anger. "He's a terrible judge of character..."

"A few years ago I might have agreed with you." She placed a hand comfortingly on Silvia's shoulder. "But after that day you protected Jonathan and I, we saw why he had chosen you."

Silvia scoffed, shrugging the woman's hand off of her guiltily. "Evidently, I didn't protect you well enough to deserve that kind of praise."

"Jonathan's death had nothing to do with you. That wasn't your fault."

"But if I had stopped that stupid fucking robot sooner... If he hadn't been in such a stressful situation then maybe-"

"It does us no good to dwell on maybe's. Jonathan's heart had been weakening for years. He was getting old, dear, as am I. You broke yourself apart stopping that thing. I saw it with my own eyes, and he did too."

Silvia had to admire Martha. After all she had been through, all the heartbreak and loss, she still stood strong against the changing winds that tried to pummel her over. She wished she was half that strong... Maybe if she was she wouldn't have needed Martha's approval to forgive herself for that day. "Thank you."

"Our family sticks together, I know you did all you could to protect them."

"I'm not family... I lost that chance." Silvia averted her gaze to the ground. The carpet was a deep royal blue and rough against her feet. "I've done a lot of things in my life that I wish I could take back, but I'll never regret anything as much as the day I walked out on Clark. I wanted to say yes so badly but I knew he deserved better... and then he died thinking that I-"

Martha's hand patted Silvia's back, halting her words and finally releasing a loud, aching sob. "He knew that you loved him." The woman said sadly. "To him, there was nothing more certain in this world than the feelings you both had for each other."

"I just w-wish that I could go b-back... I wish I could tell myself that I was being an idiot."

Martha gave the blonde a look of sympathy similar to the one the locals of Smallville had been plaguing her with. She dug into her pocket with her free hand and outstretched the closed fist towards Silvia. "...It's not too late."

The girl looked confused. Her eyes brimming with tears but still they narrowed as her head fell to one side. "Wh-What do you mean?"

One by one Martha's fingers unfurled like a flower in bloom, each one loosening in quick succession with the other to reveal an old-fashioned ring. "He gave it back to me soon after your fight. I believe his exact words were 'I'll try again later, we have plenty of time'."

The world had felt dim without Clark, no sound and no light, but hearing how forgiving he had been made that collapse into complete emptiness. Silvia thought that her grief couldn't get any worse but now it tore at her chest like sharp razors. She tried to take a breath, to force her cries back down her throat, but it only made her whole body shake with the effort it took.

"I-I couldn't..." She managed to choke out through shivered intakes of air. "J-Jonathan gave that to y-you."

"And I gave it to Clark to give to you. As painful as it is, when Jonathan died it was his time to go. We had a long and happy life together, we both knew what was coming next." Martha took Silvia's hand in hers, leaving the ring placed between their cupped palms. "You weren't as lucky as I was. Clark was taken before he even had the chance to start a life of his own. I have an entire home of photos and memories of my Jonathan, but this ring is all you have as a reminder of the bond Clark wanted to make with you. Keep it, you'll need it more than I will."

Silvia's lip quivered, and when Martha's worn hand slid away the ring was sitting between the closed creases of her fingers. She didn't know what to say... 'Thank you' just didn't seem like enough. Even as Martha heaved herself back onto her feet and headed towards the door Silvia remained silent.

"The only regret I have is not being there to say goodbye to my son." Martha finally continued as she reached the room's exit. "But I'm going to correct that. If you'd like to join me, I'm taking a few of his things to bury at the place my husband and I first found him."

Silvia finally forced her eyes away from the ground long enough to give Martha a grateful look. She nodded. "I'd like that."

There were no words to describe Silvia's appreciation. Martha not only showed her the place Clark had crashed when he was a baby, but allowed her to attend a private moment between her and the son she had lost. In that endless field Clark's presence seemed more present than at the actual memorial in Metropolis. It made both women grieve even harder for him.

They had remained there until nightfall, time sprinting away from them until they suddenly realised how cold it had become. Silvia walked Martha back to the house but somehow found herself wandering out to the field again. It was quiet there, and knowing Clark had once been right where she stood helped with the loneliness eating away at her.

"You must be Silvia." An unfamiliar voice spoke, startling her into a defensive stance.

The girl standing just a few feet away from the crash site blinked innocently at her. She didn't appear like much of a threat; she had long red hair that was twisted into a high ponytail and skin so pale it could rival the moon.

"Who the hell are you?" She answered with a growl.

"Lana Lang... Clark didn't tell you about me?"

Silvia shook her head, face still stern and teeth still bared.

"Figures. I suppose ex-girlfriends aren't the best topic of discussion with your fiancée." Lana took a step forward, noting the cautious glint in Silvia's eyes. "I'm sure he had more important things to do, saving the world and whatnot."

Silvia immediately tensed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to play dumb with me, I know about his secret."

"What secret?" Silvia hissed back. "Clark wasn't the type to hide anything, you should know that."

Lana gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head and glancing down at the newly settled soil. "He also wasn't the type to lie to his partner. You don't have to act so defensive. He told me the truth himself... He showed me."

Silvia's nose scrunched up and she adjusted her position to something less threatening. She believed that Lana was telling the truth, but she wasn't willing to be so careless with Clark's other identity to admit it. Instead she turned and started to leave the field without anything more than a huff in response.

"He said that you were the most stubborn person he's ever met." Lana muttered but she kept walking. "I thought he was exaggerating... but I see what he meant now."

She still didn't stop. Silvia steered one foot in front of the other until she found herself back at the farm, Lana disappearing somewhere in the distance. The blonde growled lowly in frustration before finally opening the front door. Martha, shockingly, was still awake. She was settled on the couch, eyes glued to the television.

At first Silvia was bewildered, Martha had never been very interested in any form of media... Her curiosity was quickly answered though in one small sentence, spoken by the reporter on the screen.

"Superman has returned."

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