Part 3 TOC"It's fine, Lois. Everything is fine," Clark reassured his wife. The doctor still had not found the heartbeat: Lois' kept getting in the way. Possibly, her tension had affected her blood pressure. He rubbed his thumb over the back of Lois' hand and raised his other to her cheek. "Don't worry. Laura will find the heartbeat any moment now."
Lois nodded, mutely.
Clark continued to watch in his special way. He could see nothing wrong, but his knowledge was limited to a perfectly normal pregnancy and birth. Suddenly the baby's heart rate jumped and Clark widened his eyes in shock as he saw muscles contract all around Lois abdomen. A moment later Lois cried out.
The doctor took away the stethoscope and began to feel with her hands. "This is the pain you've been having?" she asked.
"Yes." Lois could barely breath the word out.
"I think I might agree with you, Lois. If you were further along I'd be recommending you go through to delivery …" Clark swivelled his head to look at Doctor Ellesmere. "These seem very much like contractions."
Lois let out another cry and squeezed Clark's hands. The pressure then began to lessen, gradually.
"Lois," the doctor began, once Lois was calm. "I'd like to do a sonogram. I need to see what's going on."
Lois looked over at Clark. He could see what was going on, but there was no way to tell the doctor. He smiled at his wife, in apology that he couldn't share his information. "Honey, a sonogram would be great," he encouraged. "It will prove that there's nothing wrong. Okay?"
Lois nodded.
"There is a portable machine in emergency somewhere. I'll be back in a moment." Laura left the bay, letting the curtain fall behind her.
Lois immediately turned to Clark. "What can you see? Please, tell me everything's all right, Clark?"
"It is," he spoke quickly and quietly. "It is. I can hear the baby's heartbeat, and it's fine. It jumped a little when you contracted … but nothing to worry about." Clark really believed that … he did. Maybe.
"Contracted? You … you think I might actually be in labour, don't you?"
"No! No," he shouted. "You can't be, Lois. It's too early." He took a deep breath and lowered his voice again. "It's too early." He looked down at his wife's large abdomen and remembered the blood spots from earlier. It certainly seemed as if she were having contractions. He felt tears pricking at his eyes. He couldn't see anything wrong … but what did he really know?
Something clearly
was wrong.
"Lois," came the voice of the doctor as she returned. Pushing through the curtain she pulled a trolley in after her. "Are you feeling okay at the moment? Any more pain?"
Lois shook her head. "No pain at the moment. Well," she continued, sarcastically, "only what's normal at this stage. You know, bad back, need to pee constantly, aching ribs, swollen ankles, etcetera, etcetera."
Laura laughed and smiled. Clark felt a little bit of tension dissipate. If his wife could joke with the doctor then that was a good sign.
But then he saw her face. It was all an act. Her sarcastic retorts were hiding a deep pain.
Lois kept her eyes on Clark as the doctor squirted a large button sized blob of cold gel onto her stomach. The probe began to move back and forth and Clark found his gaze following his wife's as it was drawn away from him, and over to the monitor.
There was no sound from anyone in the room for the few seconds it took the first image to appear. Clark and Lois both held their breath.
Then the gently whooshing sound of the baby's heartbeat came through the speakers. Three people let out deep breaths. Lois let her eyes close and her head rest back in relief. Clark squeezed her hand. The doctor smiled.
"There." It seemed as if she was also relieved. "There he is."
"He?" Lois opened her eyes and looked back up.
"Well, actually it's not possible to see unless I move further down. This is the heart. I was only speaking in general terms."
"Oh," Lois replied, but somehow she looked disappointed, as if she now believed the baby to be a boy.
"Have you not been told the sex of your baby?" Laura asked.
"We wanted it to be a surprise," Clark replied.
They all sat in silence for a few minutes and just listened. Doctor Ellesmere continued to the move the probe around and examine Lois and the baby.
"Hmm," came a confused sound and she watched the monitor just as Lois began to squeeze Clark's hand tighter once more. "Lois, is this another contraction?"
Lois nodded.
The speed of the baby's heart suddenly increased. The doctor put the probe down the felt at Lois abdomen again. "Lois, I'd like to check on your cervix. I now suspect you may actually be in early labour."
"What?" Lois looked at Clark, fully panicking now. Premature babies had a much greater chance of life these days, but it could still be touch and go at this stage.
"Let me examine you, please. One minute, that's all, and then … well, let me examine you."
"Whatever you need to do, doctor," Clark replied for his wife. Lois was still staring at him. Her eyes were glistening, her lips were quivering.
Clark moved away as the lady doctor examined Lois a little more intimately.
"Early labour." The words resonated around inside his skull.
A feeling of complete and utter powerlessness came over him.
He could mend a broken bridge … stop a runaway train … capture a rampaging Supervillain. But this was beyond his abilities. He'd have to stand back and watch as his hopes and dreams for this baby slowly slipped away.
He turned to look into his wife's face and, as their gazes connected, tears began to spill from both pairs of eyes.
"My baby … my little girl …" Clark heard her words once more. Yes, they both wanted the baby to be a girl. But at this moment he would settle for the baby just to be healthy and alive. That was his Christmas Wish. And he'd use up every Christmas Wish to come to keep his wife and baby safe.
"Well, it seems that you are not dilating, and you haven't lost your plug, Lois. All the indications are that you are in pre-term labour, though." Lois gulped and Clark could see her starting to hyperventilate. Laura continued. "The good news is that there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Your body isn't trying to abort a faulty foetus, and your cervix isn’t joining in with the contractions. I'm going to give you a shot of Terbutaline, which will hopefully stop the contractions."
"It will?" Lois suddenly looked hopeful. All the distress faded from her face in an instant.
"Yes. Although there is a chance that it won't stop them permanently. Some women stop their contractions completely, but some continue to contract and so need to take Procardia every 4 hours to keep them at bay." She moved away and headed for the corridor.
"For how long?" Lois looked horrified once more.
Laura stopped and turned back. "Usually until around thirty-seven weeks."
"And … and that will keep the baby safe?" Clark could recognise the pleading note in his wife's voice.
"It should. Let's see how the Terbutaline works first. Hopefully it will confirm my diagnosis when the contractions stop." Doctor Ellesmere stepped into the corridor and the curtain fluttered behind her.
Lois turned to look at Clark. He could see both the worry and the hope written in her eyes.
"Honey, everything is going to be fine … okay?" He smiled, letting all his love for her show. He took hold of her hands and then immediately let go with one hand and reached up to cup her cheek. "Okay?" he repeated.
Lois nodded. Clark leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. Parting a moment later he rested his forehead against hers.
"All right, Lois. I'll start with a low dose," Laura explained as she returned. "We can give you repeated low doses until the contractions stop. Then I'll write you a prescription for Procardia just in case it's necessary." Clark moved away and Lois sat herself up, swivelling her legs to dangle off the edge of the bed.
"Okay, that sounds good." Lois' voice was gaining strength, her confidence returning. She reached out for Clark and he took her hand.
Laura continued to talk as she swabbed Lois' arm. "You'll have to take it every four hours. Literally. If you miss by a couple of minutes your contractions will return. It does mean even waking up in the night to make sure you take it in time."
"Really," Lois laughed in unbelief.
"Unfortunately, yes. But it will keep labour away until a much safer time."
As the needle pierced Lois' skin Clark felt her squeezing. He smiled to himself, recognising the difference in pressure when compared to just a few moments ago. He looked up and met his wife's eyes once more. The pain reflected in them was not the same pain that had been clear only a few moments ago.
His heart swelled with relief and he smiled at her. She returned the smile. Hope was written all over her face. Clark knew that everything was actually going to turn out all right. His Christmas Wish had come true.
The doctor was explaining about some minor side effects of the injection, but Clark's concentration wandered. All he could think about was what he'd seen while x-raying Lois' abdomen. He knew that her wish would come true too, in about two months.
But maybe he wouldn't wait that long to tell her … maybe he'd tell her on Christmas Day.
THE END
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