It was going to be a long night. After sitting upstairs for another hour, with Lois drifting off to sleep now and then, another contraction hit. She leaned against Clark for support, breathing her way through it. Once it passed though, she felt uncomfortable, no longer able to sit.
“Let’s move down to the living room. At least there is more room to pace down there,” Lois remarked, after making several small circles in the bedroom with Clark looking on anxiously.
Clark nodded, assembling some pillows and blankets to take downstairs. He blurred on ahead of her to set up a little nest of pillows and then blurred back to help her manage the stairs. She plodded down the steps slowly, with Clark bracing her with his arm wrapped around her back and holding her free hand that wasn’t holding the railing. Together they got to the living room, though Lois continued to pace.
“Shouldn’t something be happening by now?” she asked, glancing at Clark, though he looked just as lost and unsure. “I should call Chloe. You can take us both to the Fortress when the time comes, right?” she said, beginning to plan how they could best tackle the birth.
“Lois, it’s almost three in the morning… Chloe is most likely asleep.”
Lois bit her lip, thinking a moment. Then suddenly, she glanced down, then back up at Clark, her cheeks red.
“What is it, another contraction?”
Lois shook her head. “No… no, um… could you get me a towel, Smallville? I think my water just broke.”
Clark rushed to help her get cleaned up and brought her down some fresh pajama pants. Lois smiled when she saw them. “Nothing like monster trucks to soothe the soul. Thanks, Clark.”
After changing into the fresh pants, Lois pulled out her cellphone again. “I have a valid excuse. My water broke. It’s time to call Chloe.” Lois dialed her cousin before Clark could stop her. “Chloe! Great, you’re up! I am in total limbo right now… my water broke, but nothing much has happened. Can you come down to the farm? Clark means well, but I could use another girl in the house.” She smiled and snapped her phone shut. “She’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Lois tried again to sit on the sofa, now tired of walking around. Suddenly, a contraction hit her. She stood, poised over the sofa, a pillow clutched in one hand, and gripped the edge of the sofa in the other. “Oh my…” Lois said after a moment.
Clark hovered over her, unsure what to do. “Should we leave now, do you think?” he asked, worriedly.
“Smallville, chill. That one was intense, but I haven’t had one for almost—“ Lois glanced at her watch. “—forty-five minutes. Chloe will be here shortly and then we can go. Relax, everything will be all right.”
Clark nervously ran his fingers through his hair. “I just don’t know what to do when I see you in pain like that… is there anything you want, anything I can bring you?”
She reached her hand up to him, grabbing onto his. “I just want you. Here with me. Now, sit…” she said, snuggling up next to him, pillows surrounding them on all sides. She must have drifted off to sleep, for suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
“It’s Chloe,” Clark said, stating the obvious.
The door was open, and Chloe came in with a bag full of stuff. “I brought everything from Gatorade to extra slippers.”
“That’s sweet, Chloe. But I already got all my supplies ready to go,” Lois said, nodding to a long packed bag by the door.
“Don’t be silly,” Chloe said, coming over to give her cousin a hug. “These are for me,” Chloe grinned, then became more serious as she examined Lois a bit closer. “How are you doing?”
“Well, contractions are about forty minutes apart. And with Super Speedy here,” Lois said, tapping Clark’s knee, “we can be at the Fortress in a matter of minutes. My water’s broke but that doesn’t mean anything yet … unless there’s still no sign after hours and hours. But we just need to wait until I’m contracting much more often.”
Chloe sighed. “You sure are taking this all in stride…”
“It’s because I don’t know what the hell to expect. Perhaps it’s better this way… Clark, on the other hand, looks terrified.” Both girls gave him sympathetic looks.
Lois grabbed Clark’s knee as another contraction took over. Lois gritted her teeth in pain, as the contraction seemed to come on stronger than the last.
Lois let out a long exhale after a moment, and nodded. “I’ll be all right…” she said, seeing the concerned look of Chloe and Clark. “Thanks for the support, Smallville… I imagine me gripping on to you will get worse before it gets better.”
Clark smiled amiably at Lois. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“And in the mean time? The waiting is the worst… especially with these contractions. You think it’s about time but, no,” Lois grumbled.
“Well, we all just need to distract each other until Lois is ready,” Chloe said practically. “How about Scrabble?” she suggested, sounding inspired.
Not having a better idea, Lois shrugged her shoulders at Clark. “Well, have you got another idea?”
~L&C~
They played Scrabble for the rest of the night. Lois had contractions at regular intervals, but they weren’t getting much closer together than the ten minutes point. When the contractions came, she would grip the side of the table momentarily, her arm muscles shaking. Chloe and Clark would look at her, but she’d simply shake her head that it wasn’t time yet and then return back to the game as if nothing had happened.
The three all sat around the living room table on cushions from the sofa, as that was where Lois was the most comfortable. Lois stretched, while Clark gently reached over to rub her back.
“Triple word score!” claimed Chloe triumphantly. She had been winning for the last hour, but Lois and Clark were starting to lose interest in the game.
“I think I am going to walk around a bit. Help me up?” Lois asked Clark, and he quickly obliged.
Lois stretched a bit more, starting to yawn as she made her way into the kitchen. She realized she hadn’t worn the blue k bracelet all night and she hadn’t felt nauseous at all. Lois poured herself a glass of water, watching the sun rise. She closed her eyes, as suddenly her super hearing sense kicked in again. She could hear the click of Scrabble tiles in the living room. Lois almost dropped the water glass, as more sounds invaded her hearing.
“Lois, what is it?” Clark said softly, laying a hand on her shoulder. He had followed her into the kitchen, worried that she might need him at any moment.
“The hearing again,” she said, her head beginning to pound from all the extraneous noise.
“Remember what I told you,” he coached softly, gently rubbing her shoulder with his thumb.
Lois nodded, closing her eyes as she took deep breaths. Slowly she weeded out the other noises as she focused on their son’s heartbeat. She opened her eyes when she could hear normally again, and gave Clark a small smile. “Thanks.”
“What’s going on? Everything okay?” Chloe asked. “Do you guys want to play another round?”
Lois’ hand went to her belly, as another contraction hit her. She leaned down, reaching for Clark who was immediately by her side. “Oh, this one’s really intense,” she growled out. Gripping his arms she squeezed and felt a scream welling up inside her, but she gritted her teeth to hold it in, fearing once she started screaming, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
Chloe brought her a chair to sit on the edge of, holding her other hand as both she and Clark tried to coach her through.
Eventually, the contraction passed, though Lois was already beginning to look tired.
“You should lie down and rest, Lois,” Chloe suggested.
Clark picked Lois up to carry her to the sofa. But Lois was quickly wrenched by another contraction. Chloe and Clark looked at each other, both concerned.
“It’s… the sun, I think,” Lois panted. “I feel like it’s -- inducing the labor… Clark… it’s time to go.”
~L&C~
Clark got Lois and Chloe to the Fortress as fast as he could. Chloe took their prepared baby bag along with extra blankets and pillows for Lois.
None of them knew what it would be like to birth a baby in the Fortress, but Clark had brought sterile supplies up there weeks ago, thanks to Dr. Hamilton.
Clark laid Lois on the makeshift bed, making sure she was warm enough with pillows and blankets. “Jor-El,” Clark called to the Fortress, “It’s time to meet your grandson… can you tell us if everything is okay?”
Lois was once more taken up into a warm, halo-like light as Jor-El evaluated the pregnancy. “All is well with the mother and the baby… she will be in full labor very shortly.”
Lois was brought slowly back to the platform, reaching for Clark’s hand. “Everything’s going to be okay, right?” she asked.
Clark nodded, just as a contraction seized Lois. The contractions were coming more frequently and more intense. Chloe stood on the other side of Lois, glancing at Clark, as neither of them had any idea what to do. They both just tried to keep Lois calm, coaching her to breathe through the contractions.
Though all of them were unsure what Jor-El could do, there was a constant light around Lois the entire time. When Clark asked Jor-El about it, he said he was monitoring Lois and the baby.
It seemed like hours, as the contractions became more intense. Chloe and Clark managed to brace Lois each time, glancing at each other with worried uncertainty. Then, after about another hour, it seemed like go-time as Lois’ contractions were one after another.
When they got very intense, Chloe decided to coach from the sidelines, as Lois was starting to leave bruises on her arm. Clark could handle Lois’ grip much easier.
Chloe instead prepared a small work table for when the baby would arrive. There was a basin that she filled with water to clean the baby, and several towels. Nervously, she checked everything multiple times, glancing now and then at her cousin, hoping that everything would be okay.
~L&C~
Lois had never felt such pain in her life. With every contraction, her body wrenched in agony. She grabbed onto Clark, thankful that he had super-human strength; she didn’t think a normal man would have managed with her this far.
Clark quietly coached her to stay calm and breathe. His voice soothed her, but when she glanced up at him, his brow was wrinkled with worry and his eyes looked terrified. “Sma—“ she started to say, but another contraction wracked her body, and it came out as a scream instead.
“Push, Lois! Push!” Chloe coached, watching nearby.
Lois was in tears, groaning through the agony. This process seemed to go on a long time, until Lois was screaming. Clark held onto her the whole time, trying to ease the pain by lifting her now and then and shooting small darts of heat vision into her lower back, hoping it would have the effect of an epidural. But his efforts seemed to be in vain, as Lois seemed to continually be in wrenching pain.
Chloe came to stand by Lois’ feet with some towels. The baby would be here soon. She glanced at Clark, feeling entirely unsure of what to do, but hoping the baby would be all right one way or another.
“Come on, Lois! You can do it! I’m right here with you,” Clark said. He got on the table and sat behind her, so she could lean into him for strength. Lois’ nails dug into his legs, and he was once more thankful for his impermeable skin. Clark simply continued to try and soothe and support her.
“One more push, Lois. He’s almost here… You’re doing great,” Clark said, rubbing Lois’s shoulders.
“I can’t,” she wailed, now exhausted. She was sweating and uncomfortable, and shook her head against Clark’s chest. “I can’t do any more…”
“Yes, you can sweetheart,” he whispered, kissing her temple. “Come on… just one more.”
She whimpered against him, and then nodded, summoning courage. At last, she let out a whopping cry as she pushed as hard as she could.
“Lois, he’s almost here,” Chloe said. “But you need to push one more time!”
“No… no, I can’t do any more,” Lois sobbed. “Please… I can’t.”
Clark shifted position a little bit behind her, in an effort to give her just a bit more support. “Come on, Lois. I’m right here… Chloe’s here too… You can do it. You can do it, honey.”
Lois held onto Clark’s hands, and she leaned back into his chest. At last, it came in a guttural cry from Lois. One last push… Clark saw her eyes almost glow red, and he realized she had heat vision.
“Chloe, duck!” he called, just in time, as a few fiery darts shot out of Lois’ eyes.
Chloe stayed where she was, as now she was at a better angle to receive the baby anyway. “The head! I can see the head!” Chloe called.
Lois pushed again, a few more agonizing times, until at last the life affirming sound of a baby cry filled the Fortress.
“Clark, I need you to cut the cord!” Chloe called, now in tears herself. She was at Lois’ feet with the baby, her arms a bit bloody, holding the baby in a towel in a rather awkward position.
Clark untangled himself from Lois, laying her back gently. He took a towel and wiped her face, then leaned in to kiss her forehead. “You did it, Lois. I’m so proud of you. Now, I’m going to bring you our baby boy,” he said, his eyes shining with love and pride.
Clark stepped around to where Chloe was with the baby, and used his heat vision to cut the cord. He took the baby to the basin and gently washed his son, tears flowing freely down his face. This improbable little life represented so much to him… his heritage, and the fact that Krypton could continue on Earth in some small way…
He glanced over at Lois, the woman he loved, and he silently and happily acknowledged to himself that he and Lois now belonged to each other forever. It had taken a moment in the future, an anomaly of time and place to bring them together… and it had brought about the tiny miracle before him.
“Hi there, Jonathan,” Clark whispered to his son, his throat clogged with happy tears. Clark took a moment to think about his father, Jonathan, and how proud he would be of this moment. Clark couldn’t think of a more fitting name, as he hoped his son would have the strength of character of his name’s sake.
The baby cried only a little, but when Clark looked into his son’s eyes for the first time, and held his tiny fingers, he knew that he would do whatever it took to protect him, and Lois…
He turned to her once the baby was washed up and wrapped in a fresh towel. Chloe sat nearby, her eyes bright with tears as she watched the happy scene. Clark brought the baby to Lois, who managed to look radiant and exhausted at the same time as she smiled up at her precious family.
“Lois, I’d like you to meet Jonathan,” he said, gently laying the baby in her arms. He leaned down, encircling Lois with his arm, unable to take his eyes off his newborn son.
“Hey, little guy,” she whispered, tears cascading down her cheeks. “He’s so perfect, Clark…” she said in awe, cooing at the little miracle before her. “I can’t seem to stop crying,” she said, noticing that Clark had tears in his eyes as well.
“At least someone thought to bring tissues,” Chloe said, handing her cousin a tissue.
“The House of El will live on…” said the voice of Jor-El above them.
“Jonathan El Kent,” Clark said, and Lois nodded in acceptance with a smile.
“Yeah, and we can call him Joel,” she said, holding the now sleeping baby close to her chest. “Little Joel… Maybe… it’s time we both took a nap.”
~L&C~
Lois only drifted off to sleep for a few moments. Clark took the baby to coo and ogle at his son for a bit, while Chloe quietly cleaned up.
Little Joel started to cry, and Lois woke up. Sleepily she said to Clark, “Bring him here. I should try to feed him.”
Chloe assessed her progress on cleaning up their makeshift birthing room. “I’ve packed up everything Lois won’t need for a while… shouldn’t you take her back to the farm?”
Clark nodded. “I’ll take you and most of this stuff back first. Is that all right with you, Lois?”
She was barely paying attention to them, caught up in trying to feed Joel for the first time. “Hm? Yeah, okay. I think we’ll be all right for a bit.”
~L&C~
It took some doing, but Lois was able to breastfeed Joel after Chloe and Clark left. She felt like it was real accomplishment, and once more sensed the onslaught of tears.
“I swear, Joel, I usually don’t cry this much,” she said, kissing Joel on the head as he drifted off to sleep.
Lois laid there a moment, with Joel lying in the crook of her arm, when suddenly she felt ill. Even though she was lying down, the room seemed to be spinning, and she heard a ringing in her ears. She couldn’t quite get up to walk, but she reached over Joel for a small bin and promptly threw up in it.
“Jor-El? Are you there? What’s happening?” she called out fretfully.
“Your body is suffering the after effects of birthing a Kryptonian baby. You will become fully human once more, but you should use the blue meteor rock to counteract your symptoms.”
Lois lifted little Joel to lie on her chest. “But if I use the blue k, won’t it affect Joel? Shouldn’t he have Clark’s powers?” she wondered aloud, her eyes closed to help the dizziness.
“Feeding the child your milk while using the blue k, will reduce the likelihood of him having Kal-El’s abilities. But a human-Kryptonian child is a first on this planet. There is no way to know what the child will do when he is older.”
“But will it hurt him?” she pressed.
“At worst, he will grow up to be a normal human boy.”
~L&C~
When Clark returned, Lois was still feeling ill and very pensive.
Clark was all smiles, taking Joel into his arms. “Ready to see your new home, Joel?” he asked his son. Then he glanced at Lois, and noticed her discomfiture. “Are you all right, sweetie?”
“I’m fine, Smallville,” she forced a smile. “Well, besides being absolutely exhausted. I’m ready to get out of here.”
Clark decided to bring them home old school, with the disk to the Kawatche Caves, rather than super speed. With Lois still being weak from the birth and a newborn, Clark didn’t want to take any chances.
As soon as they reached Clark’s truck at the caves, Lois looked in the car, searching for something. “Did you bring the blue k?” she asked almost guiltily.
“No. Do you need it?” Clark asked, securing both mother and child in the front seat.
“Hold Joel a minute,” Lois said suddenly, undoing her seatbelt. She pushed past Clark and threw up again on the grass. She leaned against the truck for support, feeling her knees buckling under her.
“Lois? What’s wrong?” Clark asked worriedly, gently swaying back and forth to soothe their son, who Clark held against his shoulder.
“I—I just need to get back to the farm,” she said, not looking at him as they settled back into the truck.
~L&C~
As they drove to the farm, Lois looked down at the precious little boy sleeping in her arms, and she felt tears well up in her once more.
Part of her was simply basking in the glow of being a new mother. But there was another part that worried about what Jor-El had said. She wanted to continue to feed and take care of Joel as any mother would, but what if it took away his Kryptonian heritage? Would Clark blame her if their son wasn’t like him?
She glanced at Clark, who couldn’t seem to wipe the proud-papa smile from his face. He had so much love in his eyes, for both her and the baby. Lois didn’t want to dampen that joy just yet.
She leaned her head back, closing her eyes as dizziness overtook her once more. At least she wasn’t nauseous this time. She just needed to get back to the farmhouse and use the blue k – while the baby slept, so it wouldn’t affect him.
And she needed sleep. Desperately.
Then perhaps tomorrow, she’d tell Clark about the blue k – and the likelihood that their son may never experience his powers.
~L&C~
Clark was happy to watch Joel while Lois slept, though Joel wasn’t doing much besides sleeping himself.
When they got home, Lois made herself use the breast pump so Clark would have at least a bottle. She made herself do the rather painful process before using the blue k, not wanting any undue effects to rub off on the milk.
She felt weak from the birth as well, and her body seemed to hum in an odd way which she attributed to what Jor-El had described as the after effects of birthing a Kryptonian baby. “I’m beat… Wake me in a few hours?” Lois said, settling in a bit deeper on the sofa to take a nap.
“Do you want me to take you upstairs?” Clark offered.
The blue k was in her nightstand, and Lois was absolutely too weak to get it herself. But she wanted to stay near Clark and the baby. She debated a moment, wondering if sleep would make the dizziness and nausea go away. At last she nodded.
“What about Joel?” she asked, watching Clark as he settled Joel into a cozy bassinet.
“He’ll be fine,” Clark said gently. “I’ll take you upstairs, normal speed. But if he cries, I can be here in a blink.”
Lois seemed satisfied with that answer and waited for Clark to come over and pick her up. She felt fragile in his arms, and ever so cared for. Her head nestled under his chin and her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Lois listened to his breathing, and the steady beat of his heart. She wasn’t sure if it was the remnants of her super hearing, or if she was especially tuned in, but the sounds comforted her.
Gently, Clark made his way up the stairs and to their room. He laid Lois on the bed, quietly tucking her in. It was late morning, so the sun was bright in the room. Clark went to close the curtains, and then sat down next to her on the bed.
She felt exhausted and a little woozy; the blue k was in the drawer next to her, but she didn’t want to take it out until Clark left. Lois felt guilty, as if she was doing something wrong needing it.
Clark brushed her hair back with his fingers, a small smile on his face. “You’re an amazing woman, Lois… I want to say…’thank you,’ but that seems inappropriate and doesn’t do justice to what I feel right now. You brought me a tiny miracle, Lois. Us a tiny miracle…” Clark leaned down and kissed her. “I know you’re exhausted… it’s just –my heart is full at the moment, and --- I love you,” he said simply.
She gave his fingers that rested by her cheek a small squeeze. “I love you, too,” she said, full of all that she felt: from the exhaustion to her fears, to the truth that existed between them – as well as what she felt she needed to keep hidden.
He kissed her again, then glanced up. “I think Joel’s waking up. Get some rest.”
Then, with a silent whoosh of wind, she was alone.
Lois rolled over on her side and took out the lead box with the blue k. She opened it, and the soft blue glow filled the room, proving that she still had something of a Kryptonian left in her.
As she started to feel better, tears slid down her cheeks. She felt so bereft, and terribly guilty. She wasn’t strong enough to be a human mother and a Kryptonian one.
And she feared that difference would break Clark’s heart.
