I'm really sorry I haven't responded until now, Nancy, but you know how it is. I just
had to comment on Sue's story - disagreeing with all the rest of you, to boot
- and when I was done with that (quoting like hell, too), there was absolutely
no time to read, much less comment on anything else. You know how it is?
Anyway, Nancy,
THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you for indulging this grousy old Lois fan. Thank you so, so much for showing me that Clark still loves Lois. You know how much better I feel about him now? I can even wish him good luck in his upcoming marriage to Caitlyn. I even think he is nice enough to
deserve to move on with Caitlyn!
And yeah!!!! Hanna is going to be White Tiger! Love that name. Go, girl! I feel - hmmm, just a
tad more uncertain about the leopard suit. Maybe it's just because Clark or Jon would look so ridiculous in it? Maybe a girl like Hannah is going to look just great in it? In any case, don't mind me and don't change Hanna's suit on my account. But hey, I'm so much looking forward to seeing the debut of White Tiger!
And I loved just all of the conversation between Hannah and Jon. Darn it, Nancy, but you are doing the kids here so irresistibly well. They are so charming, too, that I almost can't believe it. Well, good thing the kids here are so extremely
nice. They are Superman's kids, they have his powers, and you wouldn't want to let loose a bunch of superpowered delinquents on the world. But you make me feel these kids have grown up in such a perfectly loving home, and Clark has been such a good father that the kids have managed to remain happy and good even though they lost their mother at a young age. This is such a compliment first to Clark and Lois, and then to Clark himself. And, to some extent, to Caitlyn!
I just have to quote one passage from Jon and Hannah's conversation:
"Do you think that because we've seen each other naked that it would just be natural to do everything?"
"I don't know." She thought for a minute, then said, "Yeah, I guess it does. We've just... well... We've done so many things together. I've just been so confused, and so much has been going on in my life. And then my college roommates teased me incessantly about not having had sex." She shrugged and said quietly, "I guess I shouldn't be worried about what they think, should I?"
It's such a pity that kids should feel under pressure to have sex, just to impress their college roommates or the cool kids at school. That's not the reason why you should have sex!
But I love that Jon and Hannah can discuss the topic of sex so openly. I loved that Jon suggested to Hannah that they should prepare themselves for the possibility of having sex by seeing a doctor and having an exam.
This surprised me:
"Jon, you need to take care of yourself. Just because you are invulnerable now doesn't necessarily mean you still can't have problems. And I noticed you rubbing your back last night. Are you having kidney problems again?"
Jon has had kidney problems in the past? Even though he is invulnerable? Are his kidneys okay now?
I loved Zared's nervousness about his upcoming wedding, his need to see Jenni and his frustration at not being allowed to see her. And hey, you had me laughing at what Clark told Zared:
Clark gave his son a hug and whispered, "Congratulations." Then he smiled and suddenly felt mischievous. He whispered, "I hear Jenni knows about the barn." With that he turned and walked away while lightly chuckling. He left Zared with his mouth hanging open. Clark could only think how very unusual it was for Zared to be totally speechless.
And... sorry about the long quote, Nancy, but this is just adorable:
Clark finally found Brook in the upstairs sitting room. She, Lara, and Jama were playing with Legos. Jama and Brook were instructing Lara on the finer points of Lego construction. Clark smiled at his daughters and thought how lucky he was to have such a wonderful family. He looked at Jama. <Jama, I need to talk to Brook and Lara. Okay?>
Jama looked up at her Daddy with adoration. <Okay. Have fun with the fireworks. I'm going to take a nap.>
Lara had also not been told of the wedding because at four-years-old she could not be expected to keep a secret from her sister Brook. Clark sat down in the floor and started helping with their elaborate Lego building. He leaned forward and kissed each of the girls on their cheeks.
Brook barely gave her dad a glance. She was intent on their work of art. "Whassup?"
And I'm not going to quote the entire conversation between Clark and Brook, but I just loved that too, you know!
But hey, Nancy, what
is this?
The device was still in his personal hyperspace. It was supposed to alert him when the time was right, but thus far the Telepathically-Tuned Time Transport Teleporter or T-5 had been silent.
"She had an amniotic fluid embolism. She survived the.. the ensuing... cardiopulmonary arrest. She was on a ventilator, and I hoped..." He started crying. Caitlyn squeezed his arm. He bit his lip and continued. "She seemed like she was doing a little better, but then she developed something called disseminated intravascular coagulation. It's a big fancy diagnosis, and I've read about it, but basically it means she was bleeding. Everywhere. Fast and furious. Despite everything the doctors could do, my Lois basically bled to death."
But please, Nancy, I would like to know a little more about this. I guess this amniotic fluid embolism that killed Lois is unusual. How do you get it? Do you suddenly get sick or something? Is it like leukemia in that it suddenly just happens to you and affects your blood? Or is it some strange unforeseen complication that could happen after surgery or after, say, childbirth?
And this... you're making me cry.
"The doctors suggested I bring the kids to see her, but before that could happen, she died." He brought his hands up and covered his face. "The hardest thing I've ever done in my life is tell my children that their mother was dead." He took a deep breath and said sadly, "We celebrated Lara's new life at 8:01 pm on April fifteenth. At 1:08 am, my life shattered. Kind of ironic isn't it? 8:01? 1:08?"
I
almost like the conversation between Clark and Caitlyn, too. High praise, you know, coming from me!
This is a bit worrying:
"Uhh... Yeah. Nervous. I guess that's normal, huh?" Clark smiled and nodded. "Dad, you don't think *they* are going to come back some day and try to tell me I've got a birth wife do you?"
Clark was surprised. "You don't have a birth wife, Zared. What would make you ask that?"
Zared was uncertain. "Are you sure? I mean... All day, I've been having these... strange... like... dreams or visions or something. I just keep seeing Zara.
Gaaahh! This birthwife stuff!!! Let's hope Zared
really doesn't have a birth wife.
"Well, I don't either, Zared, but you may be having memories of her. If I concentrate really, really hard I can remember Lara and Jor-El putting me in the space capsule. She did give birth to you, and she held you, and she loved you."
Hmmm.... Fascinating....
They walked down the stairs and then into Clark's office. Jon, the best man, was waiting there. "Wow, Zared! You look fantastic!" Then he grinned broadly and teased a little. "Fifteen more minutes and you are going to be a married man."
It was then that the T-5 decided to speak to Clark's mind telling him it was time....
Oh, no!!!! What's going to happen now????
Come back with more soon, Nancy. Let's just hope I'll have time to read it and comment on it without too much delay.
Ann
Loved it!!!!! Excellent part!