A/N: There's a lot of 'firsts' for me in this fic. It's the first multi-chapter story I've managed to write without posting as I go, which as been quite challenging at times. It's the first fic I've used a beta for the entire story, and it's the first (and possibly only) fic I've written that will find itself in our current time. I plan to post a chapter a day.
Huge thanks to my wonderful beta, Anna B. The Greek, who also suggested the name Olivia. Without your impressive attention to detail this fic would be a mess of commas, wrong tenses, and contradictions.
Thanks to the wonderful folk on the Discord channel for helping with so many questions I had.
Summary: Olivia, the only child of Lois and Clark, forges her own path.
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Part 1 – Olivia
August 1999
She gazed in awe and love at the sleeping baby in her arms. This beautiful child of hers and Clark’s, the one they were told they’d never had. She was their miracle baby.
Clark was out on a rescue, and for the first time since bringing baby Olivia home, she was alone. Martha had been here to help for the last month, with Jonathan flying in regularly courtesy of Superman Air. Her mother had been a regular visitor too, giving Lois time to adjust to having a baby in the house. Now, with the house to herself and Olivia, Lois wanted to savour the baby sleeping peacefully, wrapped in a quilted blanket made by Grandma Martha.
It had been several years since finding out Clark wouldn’t be able to father children, and while she had adjusted to that fairly quickly, she worried Clark hadn’t. As much as she doubted her ability to be a good mother, she had never questioned Clark’s natural aptitude with children. He always knew what to say, what to do, and deep down, she suspected Clark had never given up hope.
Lois had found out, long after the fact, as Dr. Klein had let it slip right before Olivia was born, Clark had wanted to expose himself to Kryptonite in the hopes of conceiving a child. Dr. Klein had assured him it was a genetic incompatibility and Kryptonite wouldn’t change that. She’d been furious at first, but had never confronted Clark, as he hadn’t gone through with it. Still, it informed Lois of his desire to have a child. When she discovered she was pregnant through a last ditch pregnancy test before going to the doctor, Clark had been overjoyed for the time it took to hug her, shed some tears of joy, and exclaim ‘wow’ more than once, before his face had fallen and he had begun to panic. Without a word, he’d spun into the Suit, flown out of the window, returning shortly with a very confused Dr. Klein in his arms.
Lois had been livid. Clark, in his panic, had unilaterally decided to inform someone else of their secret, and it was a while before Lois calmed enough to understand it from his point of view. He explained later he wasn’t thinking. The conversation with Bernard Klein several years prior about genetic incompatibility had come rushing back, and terrified he was about to lose his wife and child, he’d gone straight to the only person he knew he could trust. Rather than have the conversation in STAR Labs, he’d brought Bernard back to their home to reveal his identity and Lois’ pregnancy.
Bernard had been amazing to work with. His hunger for discovery and his love of the scientific process gained the trust and admiration of Lois. At no point had he treated her as a scientific study, yet she knew he was loving every minute of her pregnancy, despite knowing what he learned could never be committed to paper.
The pregnancy had been normal, thankfully. The obstetrician had made no remarks other than to suggest the estimated due date was earlier than initially anticipated. Olivia had been born in a hospital, and everything had gone perfectly. Clark had finally relaxed a little once the doctor proclaimed it was a baby girl, in perfect health.
Lois wiped an errant tear away as she remembered the look of delight and wonder on Clark’s face as he held his little girl for the first time, tears tumbling down his face. Reaching for the tissue, she wiped the tears away, blaming the hormones again, and the motion roused Olivia. She screwed up her eyes, opened her mouth, and began to wriggle against the constraints of the blanket.
Lois stood, and sighed, carrying her precious armload upstairs. Quiet time was over.
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