Pieces

Aftershock

A/N: I don't own Smallville or any characters and places in the DC universe. Nor do I own the episodes that these chapters are based on and contained from.

I also don't claim to be a writer. My inspiration is simply to get a creative outlet going.

I only own Tyla Nevin and what pertains to her character story.

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The events of prom were forgotten. Tyla found herself feeling a little more energized since her fallout with Lex.  She slowly began to help Martha around the house, be it cooking or cleaning. If she was going to be trying to get back into a normal routine, whatever it may look like, she could at least help the Kents in any way she could. She spent the day, caring for the dogs, looking for a good home for Xander, and then gave up after tending to the cows with Johnathan before she decided to cook when Martha, Clark, and Lois returned. She felt like home life suited her, however that may look. Perhaps, she would bring up moving in with her mother next week. 

She had just put the lasagna in the oven to heat and was in the living room, reading when Martha came back from the Talon. Streams of tears started to fall down the blonde's cheeks. Xander curled in front of the couch. He whined upon seeing Martha making Tyla jump and wipe her tears. "That must have been a heavy book," Martha said, concerned.

"No, it was just a reminder of..." She trailed off. The Morai was a book of tales that spoke to people, about people. It started with a cauldron that once held destinies before an Olympian god spilled its contents onto the Earth. Zeus tried to stop it, but he could only prevent those destinies from falling into the wrong hands. She was just reading a chapter about two lovers that were bound to be separated but soon were reunited. Images of her and Lex frequented her thoughts as she read. "It just makes me think that I could have done something different."

Martha sighed and shook her head. She sat down on the couch and held her hand as she brushed her thumb along Tyla's cheeks to dry her tears. "You know, I had a spat like this with Jonathan once." She laughed softly as the younger woman blinked in disbelief. "I know, we were young, about your age, he had an outburst that scared me. I had left, needed time to think. I realized that whatever he was feeling didn't necessarily mean it was me. I know it's a little different here but know that you didn't do anything. None of what he said to you or did was your fault."

"Thanks Martha...I just, I don't know if I can face him back in LuthorCorp. We barely announced that I am a new partner." They had only just finalized granting her access. A broadcast was to be made after she got Xander adopted.

"We can figure that out together." Martha reassured her. "In the meantime, why don't you help me with the books at the Talon? I feel like they have a mind of their own and you know exactly what to look for when things are a mess."

And that was how she ended up being at the Talon in the next couple of days. She regularly sat at one of the tables, crunching numbers and staying distracted from her own life. It had even become the regular meeting place to vet families to adopt Xander. Although she had come to grow fond of the dog, she couldn't take care of him. She wasn't sure what her life was going to be like right now. And thus, Thursday night was the last time she would be with him. After Martha had left the Talon, a family of four picked up a very happy Xander and she was left alone under the shimmering fairy lights that hung from the ceiling.

She still had a couple of things left to do before heading back to the Kent farm. First, she would need to drop off the books somehow to the manor, perhaps leave them with a guard. Then she would stop by her mother's to see if she could take one of the guestrooms soon. She picked up her keys, starting to close up when she heard the door close behind her. She felt herself tense up, then slowly turned around to see Lex at the entrance. He was just as frozen, expecting to see Martha at the counter and not his ex.