Survivors

Chapter 18: Lip Syncing and a Throne of Lies

"Thanks for seeing us early." Jeremiah started, seeming very nervous. Jessica was surprised and didn't believe she had ever seen him sweat. "We, Eliza and I, wanted to talk to you about something before you spoke to Kara."

"Benefit of having only one family as a client. I am available whenever. So has something happened?"

"Yes... did Connolly tell you that his team encountered Astra and Non?"

This caught Jessica by surprise. He would not mention an encounter but he would mention some of his men dying which she believed would happen if they engaged.

"No, we don't talk about his activities and I don't talk about mine. If I get involved in their business it would be a matter of time before they wanted to get into mine. They can deal with the aliens that want to harm others. I'm worried about the alien harming herself."

"Don't call her that!" Eliza snapped, then dropped her worried eyes again.

Jessica sighed.

"I am sorry. That came out wrong. I tend to have sarcastic qualities I am in desperate need of suppressing in my new role." the woman admitted.

"I just...I know she isn't from Earth but I don't want her labeled, not by herself or anyone else." the woman explained quietly.

Jessica nodded and took a deep breath, wondering why she ever thought she could be a therapist if she couldn't keep her damn foot out of her mouth. "So I am guessing something in this encounter is the catalyst for this early meeting. Was her aunt killed?"

"No." Jeremiah told her, his voice indicating she wished she had been. "They managed to hurt them. I don't know how but they used electricity, a lot of electricity. It didn't kill them but it did stop them, it hurt them. I am worried since Kara is younger she could be even more susceptible. The problem is I..."

The man stopped talking, so Jess took an educated guess. "You are afraid if you tell her she will harm herself?"

Eliza shook her head. "No, thats not it. You see, if Alex gets sick, I know what to do. I know when to give her Tylenol, I know when to give her household drugs for whatever ailment she might have. I know when to take her to the doctor or hospital. We have no hospital or doctor we can take Kara or Clark for that matter. We know Kara passes out and can vomit due to panic attacks, we know Clark runs a fever when he is teething. We know he isn't invulnerable or strong like Kara but we don't know why."

"And you need to study them." Jess finished, seeing the dilemma. "It sounds like your mind is made up. Do you want me to run it by Kara? Because I think the reasoning should come from the two of you."

"No." Jeremiah told her, looking at Eliza. "We want to know how to approach the subject without making her feel like she is a science experiment. I don't like this, but what if she is exposed to some Earth virus that she reacts badly to? What if she does come down with a fever, or is able to take medication and we are withholding it because we think it won't work?"

"Stop for a moment. You are justifying this to me. You don't have to. You two have made the decision. As far as Kara, she will let you do anything you want. She won't say no to either of you."

"We think she may react badly to us learning about Clark." Eliza admitted.

Jess shook her head.

"I'm going to take a wild guess here about Kryptonian culture. It was very family oriented from what I can tell but not in the warm and cozy atmosphere like your home. Their ruling factions were based on family ties. Blood ties.Think of Kara like royalty because that is, in a way, what she was. However instead of the spoiled princess you got a princess with the expectations of thousands of years of tradition and expectations on her back. Kara hasn't spoken to me much about it, but I am just guessing from what I understand about the genetic manipulation that went on in the embryo stage. Now she is thrown into a new world and her only job, her only duty is to protect the crown prince, the boy who would be king. She doesn't even have that anymore. She doesn't know who she is much less where she fits in. It will get better but one thing is certain. She will do whatever you want her to do. She desperately wants to impress you three. I wasn't kidding when I said she would clean this house top to bottom with a toothbrush if you asked her to."