This is the fourth installment of my “Nine” series. I hope you like it! Feedback is welcome! A special thanks to my great BRs, Julie Stars and Stopquitdont! Links to previous stories are located here:
Nine Eight Seven * * 6 * *
Clark reclined on the bed with an oft-read copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” a highlighter, and a stack of Post-It notes. He was dressed and ready for work already, thanks to a little super speed. “Lois?” he called in the general direction of the bathroom. “What are your thoughts about childbirth classes?” Clark had read the book cover-to-cover three times. Now he was taking notes in the margins, and putting sticky notes on all of the things he thought were worth remembering. He added a Post-It and jotted down a note. “This book has a really neat list of things to pack in your labor bag...”
“Clark, don’t you think you’re rushing things just a little bit?” Lois asked, grinning. She’d skimmed the book once, only carefully reading the sections describing what was taking place with her pregnancy *now.* Yet thanks to Clark’s rereads, Post-It notes, and dog-eared pages, the book looked like it was an old family heirloom. “After all, we haven’t even told our parents we’re expecting yet!”
Clark grinned sheepishly. “I guess you’re right. Tonight’s the night, though. They’ll know soon enough.” He watched as a very frustrated Lois emerged from the bathroom and struggled with the zipper on the back of her skirt. “Do you want help with that?” He rose from the bed and tried to pull the finicky zipper up. Then it dawned on him. It wasn’t the zipper; it was Lois. He couldn’t believe that in a mere four months she could have outgrown her clothes already.
“Clark...?” she said worriedly, peering at him over her shoulder.
“Suck it in a little, honey. I think it’ll go...”
“I *am* sucking it in.” Lois shot him a disappointed look.
Clark couldn’t help it; he smiled warmly. She was just too cute for words. He slipped his arms around her waist and held her close, his hands resting on her growing belly. It was subtle, but he could feel her usually flat stomach rounding out. This was the first day it seemed to affect her getting dressed. It was fascinating to watch all of the little changes that came along with pregnancy. He planted a soft kiss on her neck and spun her around to face him. “You must have something else to wear, Lois.”
“Can you hand me the tan one? It’s a little more forgiving.”
He did, and it zipped up. Just barely.
“You can wipe that smile off your face, Clark. You try waking up to none of your clothes fitting,” she grumbled.
But Clark couldn’t stop smiling. “Sorry, Lois... It’s just--you’re beautiful. You’re glowing. You’re--”
“--fat,” she finished with a frown.
God, she was even cute when she was frustrated. What was it about pregnancy that made her so irresistible? It wasn’t fair!
“You’re not fat, Lois.” He stood behind her, turning her a little to face the full-length mirror. “Look, you can hardly tell.”
She shrugged. “I guess. We better get going, we’re going to be late!”
* * * * *
Lois and Clark wanted to arrive at the Daily Planet early. They headed over to the printing department first thing in the morning.
Lois found her friend Alex, who was the manager in printing and circulation. She gave him a firm handshake and handed over a folder containing a disk and some documents she and Clark had designed.
“Congratulations, you two!” Alex said with a big smile, reading the pages they’d prepared.
“Congratulations on being the first to know,” Clark laughed.
“So... do you think you can do it?” Lois inquired.
“For you two, of course.”
* * * * *
Work went by quickly. Lois had to talk herself out of accepting a dangerous assignment; Perry seemed surprised that she was hesitant to take on a rash of armed robberies. She was glad she and Clark would be telling Perry and the rest of the Planet staff about the baby tomorrow, because it seemed highly unlikely that ‘Mad Dog Lane’ would give up the chance to cover a risky story. Perry had given her a funny look when she asked for something less rigorous. Still, he was glad to have someone who was willing to investigate a rash of ill-handled funds at a local nursing home. Lois smirked but didn’t complain.
When their work day came to a close, they headed home quickly to get ready for dinner. It was a family affair. Lois had prepared a tray of lasagna, and all she had to do was reheat it in the oven. She slid the tray in and set the timer, praying she wouldn’t burn it; it had come out good so far!
“Are you nervous?” Clark asked.
“Well... yes and no. I’m pretty excited to tell Lucy. And your parents will be thrilled. But as for mine...” Her voice trailed off and she gave a little shrug.
“Lois, they’ll be excited, too. Who wouldn’t be excited to become grandparents?” He enveloped her in a warm hug. Lois squeezed him back, her hands still in oven mitts.
“I guess. Let’s just hope Mother doesn’t overreact.”
“I better get Mom and Dad,” Clark announced, looking at the time. He spun into his Superman suit, kissed Lois goodbye, and dashed off. It was only a few minutes later when he arrived with his parents. They greeted Lois warmly, and she was pretty sure that the Kents didn’t suspect the news they were about to share tonight.
Lois jumped as the doorbell rang. She sighed with relief when she saw it was her sister. “Hey, Luce. Come on in!”
Lucy looked bewildered. “Lois? You *cooked?*”
Lois shot her a smug look. “I can cook. *Some* things...”
Her parents showed up late. ‘Go figure,’ Lois thought as she poured drinks for her dinner guests.
Clark withdrew the platter of lasagna from the oven just in time. Ellen and Sam arrived and they served dinner soon afterwards. Lois and Clark gave each other looks across the table, but in the end they decided to wait until everyone had eaten. After all, the food would get cold if they started off the meal telling everyone about the baby. It gave everyone a chance to talk and get settled down. When it looked like everybody was done eating, Lois stood up to clear the table. She took her mother’s plate first, then started to take Lucy’s.
Ellen watched her daughter with hawk eyes. Then she said, without the slightest bit of discretion, “Lois? Are you putting on weight?”
Lois nearly dropped her sister’s plate. She turned red and flashed a furious look in her mother’s direction.
“Actually,” Clark stammered, still quite appalled at the blunt nature of Ellen Lane, “we have something to tell you. Lois and I--we’re going to have a baby!”
Martha and Jonathan wore smiles from ear-to-ear. “Congratulations, honey!” They were hugging Lois and Clark in no time.
“I’m... I’m going to be an *aunt?*” Lucy stammered, letting the news sink in. She embraced Lois.
Sam was shaking Clark’s hand enthusiastically. He was next in line to hug Lois.
Ellen’s jaw had dropped. Finally she stood up, giving Lois a once-over. She skipped over the hugging nonsense. “Lois? Pregnant? And what are you doing wearing *those* shoes? Really, Lois. You’re going to get swollen ankles.” She shuffled Lois into the living room and practically pushed her daughter down onto the sofa. “Put your feet up.”
“Mother. I’m not an invalid!” Lois exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
“Put your feet up.” There was no arguing with Ellen Lane.
Martha sat beside her daughter-in-law before things got any more intense with Ellen. “So, honey, how far along are you?”
“This is the fourth month,” Lois answered, beaming.
“Four months?! Four months and you can’t even tell your own mother?” Ellen exclaimed with a dramatic hand gesture.
Lois frowned. “Mother. Please. Everyone here is the first to know. We decided to wait until we were sure everything was going well. Especially after last time...” Her defiant look was quickly breaking down; unexpectedly, tears started filling her eyes. She was just about to get up and leave the room, embarrassed by her mood swing, when Ellen laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry I upset you, Lois. I really am. I’m very happy about this baby. It’s just that I’m worried about you, that’s all,” Ellen explained, as gently as she could muster. Lois managed a small smile.
Clark had finished clearing the table, and joined everyone. “We’re really excited about this baby, too,” he said with a proud smile, smoothing his hands over Lois’ shoulders.
“So are we,” Jonathan piped in. “I can’t believe we’re going to be grandparents!”
Lucy was still beaming. “’Aunt Lucy’... I like the sound of that!”
* * * * *
With the success of telling their families behind them, Lois and Clark eagerly awaited telling everyone at the planet. Early in the morning, Alex dialed Clark’s extension and asked him to come pick up their little ‘project.’
“Alex,” Clark said, smiling broadly, “these came out excellent. They’re just perfect. I can’t thank you enough.”
“No problem, Clark! I was glad to do it.”
Clark returned to the newsroom with what looked like a stack of issues of the Daily Planet. “Check it out, Lois,” he whispered, slipping one of the newspapers into his wife’s hand.
Lois laughed when she saw it. “Wow, it looks real. I knew we could count on Alex.” She admired the paper Alex had created. He’d created a new front page and slipped it over an old issue. The front page had a picture of Lois and Clark, and bore the headline, BABY ON BOARD FOR LANE, KENT! Subtitled, “Scheduled to appear in early August.” The article Clark had written told how Lois had broken the news to Clark on Christmas Day, and also stated that the baby might force Lois to take on tamer stories, whether she liked it or not.
Just as they were admiring their handiwork, Perry called them into his office. “Shall we?” asked Clark, taking an issue for Perry.
“Uh oh,” Lois whispered as they approached Perry’s office. “He doesn’t look happy.”
“Well, maybe this announcement of ours will change his mind,” Clark said with a little smile. They walked into the office together, and Clark opened his mouth to greet Perry, but was quickly interrupted.
“Lois. Clark. I know the two of you are enjoying marital bliss and all. But to flatly refuse the assignment I gave you yesterday is ludicrous! I don’t know what you’re up to, and to be honest I was hoping you were working on something big that you weren’t telling me about. The armed robber has hit again, and I was hoping I could get you two undercover--”
Clark cleared his throat and interrupted Perry’s rant. “Chief. Who says we didn’t cover another big story without telling you?”
Perry gave Clark a hard stare. “Okay, Kent. Show me what you’ve got. And it better be good!”
Clark tried his hardest to maintain a straight face as he handed Perry the fabricated issue of the Planet.
Perry White read the headline twice before it finally registered. “Great shades of Elvis! You’re having a baby! Congratulations! I don’t believe it.” He embraced Lois and gave Clark a hearty handshake.
“You better believe it,” Lois said with a laugh.
Perry was looking at their headline again. “This is clever, kids. Do you have more of these? I’ll see to it that they make their way around the newsroom.”
“We do,” Lois said with a nod. “That would be great. So, do you still want us to cover the armed robberies?”
“No! Are you kidding? And sit down, will you, darlin’?”
‘Perry,’ Lois thought, ‘is going to be just as bad as Mother. If not worse.’ Still, she sat down to appease him.
Perry was rifling through a stack of papers on his desk. “I *do* have a story that might be better suited for you. Contaminated milk.”
Lois made a face. “Contaminated milk? No thanks, I’d rather take the armed robberies.”
“No!” cried Perry and Clark in unison. “What if you get shot at?” Perry exclaimed. “What if you get taken hostage?” Clark added.
Lois raised her hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. Waste my talents on lame stories about food contamination. But hear this: If I so much as *smell* bad milk, I *will* throw up. Just be forewarned.”
Perry looked at Clark and pointed a finger at him. “Keep her away from the milk, son.”
“Gotcha, Chief.” Clark grinned.
* * * * *
The End? Of course not! Stay tuned for “Five” - coming in April! -W.D.
