The Choices of Others

By chickberry <chickberry01@yahoo.com>

Rated: PG

Submitted: April, 2013

Summary: Superman's daughter made a choice, and now she must
tell her parents about it.

This is my response to the "Clark Kent, Teen Dad" Challenge
(lcficmbs.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001055). I
want to thank my Beta, Virginia, for the fantastic feedback and
encouragement. This story wouldn't be what it is without her.

Disclaimer: This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois
and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The pre-existing
characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them. The new story
elements are mine. No infringement is intended by this work.

***

A young woman rested in bed. Her head sat perfectly tucked into
the crevice of an arm belonging to a dark haired man. Her long
dark brown hair scattered across his muscular chest. Her dark
brown eyes tracked her right hand as it mindlessly wandered over
his bare skin drawing arbitrary patterns.

"Sweetie, do you think it's going to work this time?" asked
the dark haired man as he pulled her in closer, placing a soft
kiss on the top of her head.

She grinned and stopped her hand as she shifted in his arms,
rolling over to face him. "I hope so. We've been trying for
awhile. It should happen eventually. Maybe we just need more
practice." She bounced her eyebrows suggestively.

"Give me a minute, and I'll be ready for another round."

The woman just smiled back at him as he pulled her head down to
meet his lips.

***

348 Hyperion Ave. March 21, 2017.

The second day of spring had been a mild and sunny day in
Metropolis. Perfect, if one had asked Lois; she would have rather
of been outside enjoying the sun than what she had spent her day
doing. She had wasted the afternoon by herself at the Planet,
digging up background information on their latest story and
getting nowhere, while Clark and their two sons were out in
Colorado, battling a massive forest fire. It was just past six as
she walked through the door to the old town house.

Tara stood at the bottom of the stairs to greet her mother as she
entered the house. "Hi, Mom, where's Dad?"

"Oh, hi sweetie. He and your brothers had some fire in Colorado
to put out. Why? What's up?" Lois walked over to the couch,
dropping her bag and a stack of papers on the coffee table before
turning back around to face her daughter.

"Oh, I just had some stuff to discuss with both of you. Nothing
big. I guess it can wait until he gets back."

"They've been gone since about two, so I would hope between the
three of them they'd have it under control by now. I'll get
dinner started in the meantime, unless you want to tell me
what's on your mind now. I know I'm not as good of a listener
as your dad, but I've had lots of practice developing that skill
over the years."

"It's fine, Mom, I can wait. I don't really want to go over it
twice. I'll just finish my homework. It should only take me a
few more minutes."

"I remember when I was seventeen and came home with as much
homework as you do. It use to take me hours. I guess having that
super gene has given you kids quite the advantage."

"It's nice, but I was actually going to finish it up at normal
speed. I've been working on it since I got home a few hours ago.
I may have all of Dad's powers, but you know I still like doing
things the normal way. Let me know when he gets home."

"Like I'd really need to tell you," Lois said sarcastically.

Tara turned and headed back up the stairs, but paused when her
mom started speaking again.

"Oh, before I forget, are you going out with Justin tomorrow
night?"

"Probably, why?"

"Well, your father and I are going to be out late tomorrow
night. I just wanted to know if I need to make a little extra
tonight, so you could heat up leftovers for tomorrow. I won't
worry about it though, if you're not going to be here."

"Mom, I'm seventeen. I know how to make dinner and besides
it's not like I even have to eat."

"I know; it's just that I don't want you to think we forgot
about you. We've been really busy with work lately and Superman
has been just as busy. I want to make these last few months at
home for you, special."

"Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. I accepted your and Dad's
careers years ago. It's not a big deal. You both have always had
busy lives. I also understand what Dad does is extra important
and that he has spent all the time he could spare with us.
Besides, even when I move out, it's not like I'm ever going to
be that far away. I can fly, even if I don't show off like my
brothers do. Now, I've really got to get my homework done. Let
me know when dinner's ready."

"Okay."

***

Lois had been in the kitchen working on dinner for twenty minutes
when she heard the familiar whoosh announcing her husband's
arrival. "Hi, honey. I've got dinner almost ready."

"And it actually smells like it," Clark teased.

Lois stops her chopping to look up, pretending to be offended.
"Ha ha. I do know how to cook. It may have taken me twenty years
but eventually I caught on."

Clark paused to remove his boots, which were covered in mud.
"It's a good thing because on nights like tonight, dinner would
have probably been takeout otherwise. That fire took a lot longer
than any of us expected."

"Well, from the looks of you, it wasn't a simple freeze breath
job."

"No, it wasn't. Let me take a quick shower before this soot and
smell get's everywhere."

Lois took a good look at Clark as he turned to head upstairs. He
was covered from head to toe in brown and black grime. The cape
was black and charred beyond repair. She chuckled quietly
thinking that as dirty as he was, he was doing a better
impression of Batman rather than Superman. All Clark was missing
to complete the ensemble was the little ears.

"Okay. Don't take too long," Lois suggested. "I've just got
to finish the salad, and Tara has something she wants to talk to
us about. She wouldn't tell me what; just that it had to be to
both of us."

"Alright, just give me a few minutes. I've got to get this suit
soaking or it will never come clean," Clark called as he headed
up the stairs.

"Tara, your father's home and dinner's just about ready."
Lois barely raised her voice to inform her daughter. She didn't
really need to call her; Tara could hear her father coming home
from miles away and the big whoosh that accompanied his arrival
was a dead giveaway. Although she had all of her father's
superpowers, Tara usually refrained from using them and preferred
to do things the "normal" way but super hearing, combined with
a mild touch of telepathy, would always give away her father's
arrival.

Raising Tara had been entirely different from her two older
brothers. She didn't embrace her Kryptonian heritage as much
and, even from a young age, endeavored to be more like her
mother. As such, she was more than a bit independent and a tad
reckless, but Tara always held back when it came to using her
superpowers.

Clark had insisted that Tara develop them with his guidance, so
she could at least control them and use them if need be. It had
been a struggle for him to get through the importance of this,
and in the end Tara had only accepted the training when she
realized what a threat they could be to others if they were not
managed properly. For the first few months, she would protest
every time Clark wanted to take her out for a lesson. It was
difficult for him not to give in and put it off to another day.
Appearance wise, except for her eyes, Tara was all Lois. Tara was
a little taller but same build, same hair, and same mouth. When
she combined that pouty frown her mother did so well with her
father's big brown puppy dog eyes, it was all he could do not to
concede defeat. But Clark had prevailed, and she had in the end
learned enough control over them for Clark to deem her not a
threat to anyone.

When it came to academics, Tara was a good student and pulled in
good grades. She never fussed about going to class or having too
much homework. It all came really easy for her. However, unlike
either of her parents, she believed having a normal teenage
social life and doing things that regular all-human teenagers
would do were just as important as school or learning to be
super, even if they were things her parents wouldn't approve of.
Her parents knew that she occasionally went to parties, which
included underage drinking. Even though they trusted her not to
partake in that social affair, having a few drinks wasn't going
to get her drunk and most likely would have little effect on her
at all. Clark hadn't been drunk a day in his life and regularly
enjoyed a glass of wine or a few beers. Still, they felt that
since being normal was important to her they weren't going to
interfere. If she happened to be at a party where there was
drinking, at least she could look out for her friends.

Lois had just finished placing everything on the table and was
taking her seat when she heard her daughter saunter down the
stairs towards the kitchen.

Tara took a seat on the far end as her dad re-entered the room.
"Hey, Dad, how was the fire?"

Clark pulled out the chair across from her and took a seat. "It
was large. They had a major thunderstorm come through and four
separate lightning strikes hit near the same area, catching that
whole section of forest on fire. It took your brothers and I
three hours to get it under control. Unfortunately, it destroyed
two houses and damaged a ranger station, but no injuries were
reported. I'm just glad it's barely spring and everything is
still green and damp out there. If this had been summer, I'd
still be there with your brothers trying to control an inferno.
So, how was school?"

"It was good. We're prepping for all these AP test next month.
I'll be glad when that's over. Right now, every class is
basically trying to review a year's worth of material in the
next three weeks. I must be the only one in the class that finds
it so mind-numbing because I already know all of it. It's all I
can do to pretend to pay attention and look like I'm taking
studious notes. I have no doubt I'm going to get perfect scores
on everything. It's such a joke. I wish I could just take the
tests now to get them over with and then do something new in
class. It's just so boring."

"Tara, I know school's not your favorite thing, but you've
only a few more months of high school. College will be better.
Trust me." Lois had actually liked high school and had found it
challenging, which was easy to do when you had to be the best at
everything. She knew very well what her daughter was trying to
convey to her though. After working with Clark for twenty-five
years, she was intimately aware of how much learning capacity the
Kryptonian mind had. Being married to a walking encyclopedia had
definitely had its advantages, as well as its annoyances, over
the years.

"It's not that I don't like school; it's just not
challenging. No matter how much I try to fit in and be like my
friends, I'm just not ever going to be normal. Writing book
reports, finding derivatives, and graphing sine waves is no
challenge when you can speed read and have a photographic memory.
I have to force myself to use a calculator in class just to blend
in, when I already have the problem solved in my head. The only
thing I've found mildly interesting was foreign languages and I
took all six that school offered. My teachers were all amazed at
how easily I picked up new languages. It's just not all that
impressive when you can speak three hundred and forty-seven of
them, Dad."

"Sweetie, it is impressive. How many kids do you know can speak
six languages? Maybe some kids can speak Spanish, Italian, and
German but not also Russian and Japanese. I am proud of you,
sweetie. And I need you to believe it will be better in college.
You'll be on your own. The subjects will be more interesting and
you'll have more of a say in what you want to take. Plus, there
will be plenty of other distractions like football games in the
fall and basketball in the winter to go to. You really will enjoy
it more."

Tara was hunched over in her chair fidgeting with her napkin,
showing obvious signs of nervousness.

"Well, I'm not so sure. I have something to tell you, and it's
not exactly easy to say."

"You're not thinking of skipping out on college, are you? I
mean it's okay if you want to do some traveling or something
first and then go to school. You know both your father and I
traveled a bit after high school. Your father obviously a bit
more than most people."

"No, I still plan on going to college next year. It's just that
I don't think I'll have time to go to football games and things
like that. I'll have my hands full come October." She paused to
tilt her head up and look both of her parents in the eyes. "Mom,
Dad, I'm pregnant."

Lois was in shock. She didn't know what to say, which was a
rarity for her. She had never expected her high schooler to
announce that she was pregnant. What parent did? Tara was an
honor student with a full scholarship to Met U. What was she
thinking? Was she even thinking at all? Was this an accident, or
could she have done this on purpose? No, she wouldn't have. Why
would a kid want to do this on purpose? Lois was interrupted
before she could finish that train of thought.

"You're what?" retorted Clark.

"I'm pregnant," Tara responded definitively.

"You're serious? "

"Yep, six weeks."

"I'm not really sure what to say. I'm not going to
congratulate you, if that's what you're looking for." Clark
leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms to assume a seated
Superman pose.

"I didn't expect you to, Dad. And I don't expect you to
understand, either of you." Tara looked at her mother, who had
remained unusually silent.

Lois looked back at her, but kept her mouth shut. She was doing a
good job of biting her lip while she let Clark get in what he had
to say first. Lois knew she was normally the irrational one;
always jumping in feet first without checking the water level or
flying off the handle over nothing. When it came to their
daughter though, Clark had always been the more irrational one.
She was always going to be his little girl, no matter what her
age was. That led him to be the standard overprotecting, and
sometimes suffocating, father. Lois knew that he hated the fact
that Tara was dating, and had been in a long term relationship
with Justin. Clark had argued with her on many occasions that
Tara should be less serious and date around more. Tara was just
as strong willed as Lois was though and would never cave to her
dad's compulsive need to overprotect her. Tara hated it as much
as her mother did.

"Understand? What makes you think getting pregnant in high
school is understandable? Is Justin, at least, the father?"
Clark said.

"Of course, he is, Daddy. Who else would it be?"

"Oh, I don't know, some random high school kid, willing to do
what it took to get you pregnant. I'm guessing by your attitude
that this really isn't an accident." It was more of a statement
than a question.

Lois knew Tara would chose to ignore the last statement for now.
She was obviously infuriated by the first one and rightfully so.
Clark had just insinuated that his daughter was easy, and this
would be maddening to any woman, let alone one with Mad Dog Lane
genetics. She had never known her husband to make such rash
statements about anyone. He always looked for the good in
everything and everyone but this had obviously struck a nerve
with him. Lois took a sip of wine before she leaned back in her
chair to watch the battle between Tara and Clark's irrational
side play out.

"Did you actually hear what you just said? I can't believe you
would think of me doing something like that, Dad. How dare you
come off saying something like that? Justin and I've been
together for three years and, not that it's any of your
business, we did wait a long time until we were both ready. You
didn't actually think I was going to wait until marriage, did
you? People don't do that anymore, Dad. Besides, that's just
about as long as you and Mom knew each other before you got
married."

Clark relaxed again in his chair dropping the Superman pose.
"That's different. We were adults, we had established careers,
and we were a decade older. You're a high schooler and not even
eighteen yet."

"I'm going to be eighteen soon and I'm graduating in a few
months, with honors, Dad, in case you've forgotten. I'm not a
little kid. I can make my own decisions and I can take care of
myself. I'm in control of my future and I don't want to be a
superhero like you, CJ, and Jon, or a career woman like Mom. I
want to be normal or at least as normal as I can be. You're the
one who always said you wanted to lead a normal life: friends, a
job, get married, and have kids. That's the whole point of Clark
Kent, right? He's just a normal guy that everyone likes. So, who
are you to judge me wanting to lead a normal life? Nothing
academically challenges me and nothing physically really does
either. I purposely answered a few questions wrong on the SATs
just so that I wouldn't take too much flak from my friends for
getting a perfect score. Did you know that?"

Lois looked at her husband and she could tell that this was news
to him just as it was to her. Before she could get an appropriate
thought together though Tara had already continued on.

"You know full well that I can't play sports without exposing
myself, or holding back. It may have been good enough for you,
Dad, to play college football pretending to be only so good but
it's not for me. I don't find holding back my speed, or
strength, to be challenging in a fun way at all. I just want to
do something where I can be me, the real me, and still have it be
challenging. So, I decided to take on the challenge of being a
mom. Maybe becoming a mom at eighteen isn't normal but, thanks
to you, I can never be fully normal. And I'll have an advantage
over every other mom out there because I am super. I don't need
to eat or sleep like a normal person and, thanks to super speed,
I can get things like homework and cleaning done in a few
minutes, so I decided to move the 'have a family' date up. I
don't see what waiting would accomplish."

"How about life experience and getting to know your boyfriend
beyond the confines of high school? Apparently, you don't think
that that's important. You don't think that experiencing a few
years of independence and learning to become self-reliant isn't
important then, fine." Clark paused to take a roll out of the
basket as cover for gathering his thoughts together. He picked at
the top, removing a few small pieces and ate them quickly before
continuing. "You really think you've thought of everything?
What about the basics like a job or a place to live? How are you
going to support yourself and this kid? Are you and Justin going
to raise it together?"

"Yes, we're going to be moving in together to an apartment near
campus. We've both got loans and scholarships so tuition and
housing are financially taken care of. He's still going to med
school so he won't have much time to help out but I don't think
I'm going to need that much help. Look at you, Dad." Tara
pointed straight at Clark for extra emphasis. "You raised three
kids and held down two fulltime jobs, both of which could
interrupt your plans at a moment's notice. I would never
consider just dropping everything and rush out on my family;
that's not me. But you did it time and again, even with all the
cutbacks you made to social appearances. There were still all
those natural disasters, for which you just left at a drop of a
hat. Not me," Tara dropped her index finger down on the table to
stress her statement causing the table let out a small creek from
the impact. "I will be here for this child's every moment. And
once Justin is a doctor, we'll be well taken care of. He wants
to start a family, too. We made this decision together, and it
wasn't a spur of the moment one."

"So maybe I did rush out often but I had your mother's help.
She was always here for you. Justin needs to focus on school;
pre-med isn't a walk in the park program. He's not going to be
able to help as much as your mom does. Does he even know?"

"That I'm pregnant?"

"No, that you're super?"

This finally had struck a nerve with Tara as she shrunk back into
her chair.

"No. I haven't told him yet," she answered in a voice much
smaller than a minute ago.

"Don't you think that's an important thing to share if you're
considering living and having a life together? I mean, I know
you've never liked the fact that you have super powers. You made
it clear, early on, that you wanted to be a normal kid, but they
are there and you will most likely have a super kid. Trust me;
you're not going to be able to hide them forever. Don't you
think it's important to have told Justin what he's getting in
to?" Clark leaned back in his chair folding his arms once more
to make it clear that this point should be taken seriously.

"Dad, I don't hate the super powers. I know you don't think so
but I am very grateful for them. I just don't want to be a super
hero. I'd rather be a super mom." Tara smiled at that thought.
"And Justin loves me. He'll accept this. It's not like you
have much of a leg to stand on, Dad. You asked Mom to marry you
before you told her about Superman."

Clark relaxed again, acknowledging her statement. He took another
piece of crust off the top of the roll and popped it in his
mouth. "Okay, I did, and it was a mistake. It caused problems in
our relationship. But trust me, hiding them when you're around
someone all the time is not easy and starting a relationship out
under false pretenses, like this is, is just going to make it
harder in the end to tell him. You are going to tell him, aren't
you?"

"I haven't decided. What do you mean 'starting a relationship
out'? We've been dating for three years. Would you have rather
I had been up front about it, when I was fourteen, and just said
'hey, Justin, just in case you wanted to know before we start
going out, I'm Superman's daughter. Are you okay with that?
Better not do anything to make him mad.' Is that what you wish I
had done?"

"No, I'm not saying that."

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm just saying that the longer you hold off telling him, the
harder it's going to be."

Lois was still patiently waiting for her cue to chime in during
this exchange and thought that this was a point that she knew
well and could emphasize. She had over two years of lies and
deceits to think back on, and knew that Justin deserved to know
the truth. Tara might not be pretending to be two different
people to him, but she was hiding her true self. She might not
notice it, but she did use her powers every day in the comfort of
her home. They were a part of her. Until Lois had been allowed to
see Clark for who he really was, the powers and deceptions that
went along with them were always an invisible barrier in their
way.

"He's right, Tara; the longer your father put it off, the more
it pushed us apart. I could tell he was lying about something. I
tried to ignore the feeling for so long but we got to a point
where it nearly destroyed our whole friendship, not just our
romantic relationship. "

"But he was running off to be Superman. I won't be. I really
just want to lead a normal life. If I tell Justin, then we won't
be a normal couple. What if he starts to expect I use my powers
all the time or decides that he doesn't want to be with an
alien?"

"Well, that's a risk. It's your choice to tell him, or not,
but having been in his shoes, it was better once I knew the
truth. I can't say I was happy what your father had done, I was
far from it, and there was still a lot for us to work through.
But everything was so less complicated once we could both be our
true selves." Lois paused to give Tara a few seconds to mull
over that thought. She knew exactly what her daughter was
planning as a response and needed to squash it first.

"And it wasn't just the always coming up with lame excuses and
rushing off. That had its place but there were far more subtle
things as well, things that Justin will start to question once
you're living together. You do use your powers more than you
think. Living together, he will start to notice little things
that don't make sense. You have done a good job training
yourself on being human, but you're not perfect. How often do
you use a blow-dryer in the morning or a razor to shave your
legs?" Satisfied with getting that point across, Lois paused to
reach across the table and grab herself a roll. Dinner was, of
course, cold by now, but she was starved and rolls were good warm
or cold.

"Mom, I get what you are trying to tell me," Tara picked up her
fork drawing her attention away from her parents to admire the
shiny stainless steel object. She twirled it around in her hand
keeping her eyes on it as she continued, "But I don't see it as
the same situation as you and Dad. I'm not asking him to share
me with the rest of the world, or worry if while I'm out that
some criminal is going to jump out at me with a chunk of
kryptonite." She put the fork down and returned her eyes to her
parents.

"I know that there are some things that I can't hide like not
needing to eat, sleep, or exercise like a human, but for now I
can excuse it as hormones. So I'll have to buy a razor and take
a little longer getting ready in the morning, but that's all
little stuff. Maybe in a few more years, I'll tell him, but I
want him to focus on school right now. He's going to make a
great doctor."

Lois looked at her husband. Their eyes told each other that this
was getting them nowhere. Lois decided to change the subject.
Sometimes Tara could be just as obstinate as her father.

"Have you guys ever discussed your opinions on Superman?" asked
Lois.

"No, I always try not to bring it up to not draw any attention.
Why?"

"I just think it might help you decide what to do if you knew
his opinion on the matter."

Tara looked back down at the silverware sitting next to her plate
and mumbled, "Maybe. I guess I could start there."

"I think you should do it as soon as possible. Revealing
yourself will most likely be more difficult for you. Your father
already knew I had accepted him as Superman; that wasn't the
issue. He was waiting for me to accept him as a man," Lois said,
giving Clark a little smile to remind him how happy she was with
him.

"You, sweetie, have it the other way around. He's accepted you
as a woman, which he should. To his knowledge there aren't any
Superwomen, so he's probably never considered it. Now, you need
him to accept that side of you. Finding out his opinion about
your father will hopefully give you some insight. But don't
think that conversation is going to be easy and, unfortunately,
your father and I can't help you there that much."

"And, Tara", Clark added. "I want you to be very careful on
what you tell him, based on his response about me. If he responds
negatively, or suspiciously, I would hope you would choose good
judgment and refrain from telling him the secret. Remember, it's
not just about you. This will affect all of us. You need to be
careful. I know you trust Justin now, but I just ask you to be
careful. There are other people to consider in this."

"Don't you think I know that, Dad?" Tara snapped. "I've
spent my whole life with that statement drilled in to me. It's
just as bad as your father and his 'locked in a lab and
dissected like a frog' argument."

The room became quiet. Lois had to agree with her on that point.
From an early age, once they found out about their father, the
kids had been continually reminded to protect his identity for
the safety of all. After a decade, Tara didn't need to be
reminded. She was visibly upset at many of the assumptions her
father had made about her tonight. Clark was obviously rattled by
this news and wasn't reacting with a clear head. To that end,
Lois had to keep an open mind and be the rational one.

Lois had listened to all that had been said about their lives,
her daughter's life, Justin's life, but nothing had been said
about this baby's life or its journey for the next several
months. She was a lone pioneer in this venture. Lois may have
delivered three human-Kryptonian hybrid babies but she could
still receive any treatment available had a problem arisen during
pregnancy or delivery. This was not the case with Tara.

"Have you talked to Dr. Klein yet?" Lois inquired.

"No, I was hoping to just treat this like a normal pregnancy. I
know you guys told Dr. Klein when you found out about CJ, but you
never had any troubles with any of your pregnancies."

"True, but there was always a chance that something could go
wrong, or be different, and so we had him monitor all three of
you. But I think there are some things that you haven't
considered, things that most people don't want to think about
happening." Lois hesitated to put on a sympathetic face for her
next statement.

"You're invulnerable. If something goes wrong, a c-section is
not an option unless there's kryptonite involved, which probably
isn't a good idea. And things can go wrong in many ways
involving delivery that have nothing to do with the baby not
being fully human. I am human, so a c-section was always an
option. I could go on and on with a list of scenarios that need
to be considered, but I think you get the point, and that you
should talk to Dr. Klein. He can at least begin to come up with
an emergency plan. He doesn't need to replace your OB, but he
should be informed." Lois waited to see if Tara had anything to
say, but she remained silent, probably filling in the list of
things that could go wrong.

"Besides, knowing him, he's probably already thought about this
scenario and may have some ideas already. Even at his age, he
still loves problem solving," Lois added to lighten the topic.

Tara tried to smile at her mom's comment but it quickly turned
into a frown. "I guess I hadn't really thought of my
invulnerability in this. This will be a first, won't it? It's
not like women on Krypton were invulnerable. I suppose I'd
better give him a call on Monday."

Lois's didn't have much more to say on the subject; Clark had
gone quiet as he finished picking apart his roll, probably
praying for a cry for help, and Tara was slouched in her chair,
back to fidgeting with her napkin. The discussion was over for
now. Time for dinner, not that anyone was hungry anymore, but
they all needed a break from the discussion.

"You do that and keep us informed on what he says," Lois
suggested. "Now, I know you two don't need to eat, but I'm
starved, so let's eat. I'm sure everything is cold by now, so,
Clark, can you warm dinner back up?"

Clark stood, removed his glasses and trained his heat vision to
all the food that wasn't to be served at room temperature. He
sat back down, and the ladies started dishing themselves out
food.

Other than the clanking of silverware against porcelain, dinner
was eaten in silence; each lost in their own thoughts about what
challenges tomorrow would bring.

THE END