Chapter 17
Resurrection
Clark was certain the fates had conspired against him. From the moment he'd been born, he'd been constantly dealt a hand he didn't know how to play. An orphaned baby from a distant planet; a lonely youngster who couldn't figure out why his body was changing the way it was.
He was different -- an alien who didn't belong -- and he'd felt all those things in his life.
Those feelings of isolation had only got worse as he grew older, until he'd met the one woman that could make his life a little brighter. Once again, the fates had other things in mind. The woman of his dreams didn't even like him. Yet, he'd persevered. He'd learned to use his unusual abilities to help the people of his adopted world, and he'd become friends with that special lady. He could live with that. Then he'd been dealt the worst blow of his life. He had been told he had cancer and would die.
The woman of his dreams had come through for him, offering to aid him in his fight to live. It had taken a while, but finally he thought he had everything he ever wanted: a beautiful wife, a gorgeous daughter, a charmed life. However, the fates had conspired once again.
For days he'd been fighting an almost unbearable lethargy. The trembling had begun earlier tonight. It was as if he could feel his life slowly draining away. He guessed the added complication of a pouring nosebleed would take him sooner than he'd thought. He'd figured the end would be painful and horribly slow. But this was better. It would be over soon and Lois wouldn't have to watch him suffer. He guessed that at the rate his nose was bleeding, he'd be gone long before Lois woke up. No matter. He just wanted to sit and soak up her beauty and that of their daughter in his last hours.
He lowered the third towel from his nose to the wastebasket beside his chair. The constant ache in his body had faded about an hour earlier and he had never felt as calm as he did now. Another towel covered his nose to keep from soiling the furniture. Clark would have loved to hold Mira a final time, but there was no way he'd cover her with blood.
He smiled sadly and recalled the last five weeks. They had been the best five weeks of his life. Having a daughter completed him in a way that even having Lois couldn't do. God, how he'd miss them both.
Suddenly Lois sat bolt upright and gasped for air. Her eyes darted around the dimly lit room until she found Clark. Her feet hit the floor with amazing speed. "Clark!"
"Lois, what are you doing awake?"
She shook as she took in his appearance. Her dream hadn't been a dream at all. It was a premonition. "Oh, sweetie." Her heart broke for Clark. He'd planned to go quietly in the night without so much as a word.
"Lois…" He could tell she knew exactly what was happening.
"I know, honey. I know."
"It's time," he told her as his eyes filled with tears. Why did she have to wake up? Saying good-bye would be nearly impossible with her awake.
"You listen to me, Clark Kent." She held his face in her hands. "You are not leaving me."
"Honey, my body's worn out. It can't go on anymore. I can feel it."
"And I can feel you living." She lifted his hands to hold the towel to his nose, and with more urgency than she'd ever experienced in her life, placed a call to the emergency services for an ambulance, called Bernie, and phoned his parents.
Clark could only watch helplessly as, almost on auto-pilot, Lois dressed in a pair of sweats and readied Mira to leave. Twenty minutes later, he was unloaded and rushed into the ER at Metropolis General. Dr. Klein was waiting for them.
****
"It's too soon. Mira isn't old enough," Clark protested, his voice sounding strange from the work the medical team had done to cauterize the nosebleed.
"Clark, the tests I've run on her say differently," Bernie told him. "She has great genes." The doctor winked, then carefully inserted the needle he held into Clark's arm.
"What happens next, Bernie?" Lois asked. They'd been through the procedure a few times over the last week or two, but she had to be sure what to expect.
"We'll give Clark a massive dose of chemotherapy to destroy his diseased bone marrow... they'll be setting the drugs up in a moment. Once that's started, we'll retrieve some healthy marrow from this little lady and transplant it into Clark when the chemo is finished. Then we wait for the healthy tissue to kick-start Clark to produce his own good marrow." Bernie had the drip in place and he turned to Lois. "Is she ready?"
Lois nodded before she handed over her baby.
"I'd like to hold her," Clark told them.
"I think that would be wonderful," Bernie said as he lowered a now very relaxed baby to her father's arms.
"What's wrong with her? She looks funny." Clark struggled to sit so he could see his little girl better.
"Relax, sweetie. I gave her the medication Bernie told me to on the way to the hospital. She's just sleepy." Lois reached out to smooth Clark's and Mira's dark hair.
Clark cradled the baby closer, shaking almost violently as he attempted to steady Mira's arm for the insertion of the needle to start a saline drip. Lois was by his side in a moment, lending her support, and Clark grew calmer -- Lois sustained him.
"No matter if this works or not, please remember your daddy loves you… *so* much," he whispered to the child. Tears squeezed from his eyes as he held his lips to her head. The baby didn't even flinch when the needle broke her delicate skin. "My little miracle." He continued to hold her until she was sleeping soundly.
"I need to take her now," Bernie told Clark.
He kissed her again. "I love you, Mira. Forgive me." He reluctantly handed over his daughter and watched while she was placed on a gurney to be taken to retrieve the life saving marrow from her body.
Lois stepped forward and kissed his lips tenderly. "I love you and I'll be here when you wake up."
"I love you. Take care of our baby."
"We'll take care of her together." Lois placed a final kiss on his hand before Dr. Klein lowered an oxygen mask to Clark's face and a nurse efficiently connected the chemotherapy bag to the shunt.
Since Clark had stayed comatose naturally while his body healed from his bout with pneumonia, Bernard had decided that Clark should remain unconscious, not only for the whole procedure, but afterward as well. Mira's tissue samples had contained more super genes than he'd first thought, and the doctor theorized that her healing properties would work rather quickly once in Clark's system, particularly if Clark's body was completely relaxed. Hence, the need to administer anesthesia that would keep him under.
Clark's eyes drank in Lois' features as his body started to succumb to the medication. His hand lifted the mask one last time. "I love you and our daughter. Tell Mom and Dad they've been the best parents I could ever have had, and I'm relying on them to watch over you and Mira."
Lois fought the tears that threatened to spill over. Clark was so sure he'd never see them again. "I love you, too... always. And I will... we'll help each other," she assured him. She reached out to put the mask back in place.
Satisfied his family would be taken care of, Clark's eyes drifted shut.
Bernie monitored his patient for several minutes before looking up at Lois. "He's out." The first stage of the treatment had begun, and the doctor felt amazingly confident, but the young woman by the bedside needed some reassurance. "This is going to work, you know."
"He was dying tonight, wasn't he?"
"Yes. The blood loss would have taken him in a matter of hours."
Lois nodded and turned to leave, entrusting Clark's care to the capable hands of their friend and doctor. The process to take marrow from Mira would soon be starting, so she needed to go to her baby.
****
Test after test came back with the same results. Clark's blood was showing improvement by the hour. The newly created healthy red blood cells were attacking the white cells that had almost entirely consumed his system. There was even starting to be a marked improvement in his color. He was no longer pale and sickly looking in appearance. The rosy tint had returned to his cheeks just that day. Bernie had been right to keep him unconscious to allow the healing process to take place.
Clark only spent three days in the hospital before he was moved back home. Klein told the hospital staff that the whole situation was simply another experimental procedure in home care, which the family had agreed upon -- providing the patient with familiar surroundings in which to recover. Since everyone had always viewed the doctor as a little unorthodox, no one questioned his orders.
Sending Clark home also allowed for his body to be bathed in sunlight each day. When he'd been in the hospital previously, Bernie and Lois had opened the blinds in Clark's room as often as possible. However, they both felt that total exposure was needed now, and they couldn't be sure that the medical staff wouldn't question that bizarre therapy, so the privacy of his own home was desirable.
Clark's bed was placed near the French doors leading out to the balcony of the couple's apartment. An early spring had brought sun and warmth, and each day Lois wheeled him outside to get the full benefits of the life-giving yellow rays.
This time, Lois cared for Clark with much more energy and optimism than she'd done before. This time she saw the future, and it included her husband.
As had been predicted, Mira barely noticed that she'd been a marrow donor for her father. She'd winced in mild discomfort the first day and night, and Lois' heart broke with each cry. Fortunately, for her mother's peace of mind, Mira had soon returned to her usual cheery self.
Several times a day, Lois made sure to take little Mira in to lie with Clark. His daughter's marrow might heal his blood, but the baby would heal his spirit.
Martha and Jonathan had come to Metropolis and this time wouldn't have to return to the farm. They'd finalized the sale of their property earlier in the same week Clark had fallen ill, so had planned to take the plane out the following day. They would stay with Lois and Clark for a short time until they could find an apartment. Right now, Lois was grateful to have them near.
****
Bernie was very pleased with Clark's progress and a week after the surgery, the doctor began gradually to wean Clark from the medication that was keeping him asleep. But Klein warned Lois and the Kents that the young man would have to wake on his own.
Lois sat next to the bed working while Mira slept on Clark's chest. This had become her morning ritual since he'd come home. Very often, she couldn't resist glancing over and smiling at the sleeping duo -- they just looked so cute together, she thought. The only thing that would be better would be for Clark to wake up. Three days after the medication had been stopped he was still sleeping, and Lois' nerves were wearing thin.
<Come, on, Clark. Please open your eyes!>
As if he'd heard her thoughts, his large hands lifted to cover Mira's small body. Lois placed her laptop on the floor and sat up in her chair, her breath catching in her throat in anticipation.
Clark's hands roamed his daughter's back for several moments before he opened his eyes to gaze down at her. "Mmm… I've died and gone to heaven," he murmured.
Lois uttered a sound that was halfway between a sob of joy and a chuckle, as she rose to stand by his side. "Hi."
"Hey." His smile beamed as his eyes met hers. "Definitely heaven."
Lois' legs trembled with relief and excitement, and she leaned on the bed as she bent to place a kiss on his lips. But within moments she was staring at him again, treasuring his wonderful grin as never before. He was back with her, and this time, he would never have to leave her again.
