Poor Lois. Hugs to Marta and Jon. Poor Clark. I just know that no matter what happens to Lois, her death with crush him.
I'm glad her family finally were able to find a way to get across to her how much Lois was hurting them, when she kept breaking her word about going on investigations. Parenting 101. They had been giving her a reward (attention, even if it was negative attention) for breaking her word. When they stopped giving her attention for ending up in the hospital, she finally got the hint and noticed. I was beginning to wonder if Marta's words hit the closest to home. They were preparing themselves for her death (by acting as if she wasn't there). Marta finding her mother beaten up and close to death was a horribly traumatic event for the girl, no matter her age. I agree that isn't something she would ever want to go through twice, let alone once.
Jon's choice in career in hopes to cure his mother isn't a big surprise, but I'm sure that it's an extra burden for Lois. Now, she's feeling that his current work ethic and life choices (and thus lacking activities and friends normal kids his age participate in) are because of her. I could see her imagining that should she die, he would be at a loss because his life's goals would no longer have meaning. (Not that they necessarily will, but she'll think that and it's possible that so will Jon).
I'm hoping that Klein's dragons will turn out to be friendly and kind and a cure will be possible, but I'm sure that's just the optimist in me. How can Clark's aura (and, yes, I know Jon's forgetting his and Marta's as well) would 'cure' Lois's tubal ligation but not her liver?
It's just not fair! (stamps down foot! Yeah, yeah, I know life isn't fair.)
I'm glad that Clark has a good and solid extended family to help should something happen to Lois, because in a way he, Jon, and Marta have been living for* Lois and I could see them falling apart for a while in the aftermath of her death. Now, THAT would be a tearjerker of a story. But since you only have 5 parts left, I'm going to be optimistic again and hope that you don't have time to break my heart in that manner. (If you did, I'm sure it would be one of those beautifully written tearjerkers, just the same.)
* When I say 'living for' I mean holding their breath waiting for the other shoe to fall. When it finally does, it will take a long time before they will learn to adjust to breathing normally again, if they ever will. It's brings an underlying stress to one's life, especially for Jon and Marta who lived with the knowledge that their mother could get sick and die at any moment for their entire lives.
Lois's pregnancy was a definite surprise twist I wasn't expecting.
I wish her luck with the pregnancy and the health of the child.
