Hi, Folcs! Sorry about the long delays. This is mostly because I have to drive to the internet. To give you an idea what this involves, it's over a mile from my house
to the paved road. Really, though, I do love where I live now, and Frankly, I'm glad to have net access at all.
So, without further ado...Part two!
____________________
When we last left Lois and Mike:Lois suddenly changed direction. The hospital was not going to do Mike any good; he needed very special attention, and Lois could think of only one person who could provide it. Hoping that she wouldn't be too late, she set a course for Metropolis.
*****
Part Two:Bernard Klein was just closing up his office. All of the other staff had gone home, but he had stayed behind to finish up an experiment he'd been working on. It had taken much longer than planned. At last, though, his work was done, and now he could go home and relax. He picked up his keys and was reaching for the light-switch when suddenly the door flew open and a very disheveled woman spilled into the room, clutching an unconscious little boy.
"Erm, I'm sorry, but STAR labs is closed right now...." he stammered.
The woman seized the lapel of his lab coat. "Please---you have to help him!"
She was very out of breath, he noticed. Dr. Klein looked at the little boy, who seemed unnaturally pale. "I'm sorry," he said, "but this isn't a hospital. If you like, maybe I can drive you---" He tried gently to pry her fingers off his lapel.
Her grip on it tightened. "You don't understand!" she cried, then continued in a slightly more normal tone of voice, "He's not an ordinary little boy. He's---he's---" She swallowed. "He's Superman's son."
Klein arched an eyebrow. "Funny, Superman never told me he had a son."
The woman looked down. "He doesn't know."
Dr. Klein sighed. "Listen, Lady, I don't know how gullible you think I am...."
The woman glared and yanked on the lapel, bringing him closer to her. "Look, I know it sounds crazy; in fact, I hardly believe it myself, but you've got to believe me! If you won't take my word for it, then do a DNA test. Do a blood test, match fingerprints, anything, but do it fast because he needs help and I've already lost hours just getting him here!"
Dr. Klein's eyes widened and he took the child from her. "Okay! Okay! Erm, let's assume, then, that he really is Superman's child. What exactly happened, Miss---?"
"Lane. Lois Lane."
"Wait---Lois Lane? I remember you; didn't you used to write for the Daily Planet? Yes, yes, and you always got all those great Superman exclusives---oh."
Lois' head snapped up. "It wasn't like that!"
"Okay," Dr. Klein acquiesced, "so it wasn't like that. Now, tell me what happened to---?"
"Mike. We were at the bank, and the bank was held up. The man who did the hold-upping had a piece of Kryptonite."
"Uh oh."
"Mike was crying; I thought he was just scared. I didn't realize---and now he's---" Lois broke down and cried. "I'm a terrible mother!"
Klein shifted the child---Mike---to one arm and put a hand on Lois' shoulder. "Calm down; calm down. It will be all right." While Lois collected herself, Bernard put Mike down on an examining table and checked his pulse. "His pulse is faint, but still there. He seems to have slipped into a comma. I suppose it's reasonable to assume that, since his body is so small, Kryptonite radiation would spread through it much quicker than it would through Superman's. Now, I'm going to take some blood samples, and I need you to tell me how much Kryptonite he was exposed to and for how long. I also need to know if he's developed any super powers, if he's ever been sick..."
*****
Clark stepped into the living room with two steaming cups of coffee and set one down in front of his guest. "Here you go, Mayson."
Mayson gingerly picked up the cup and took a sip. "Mmm. Thankyou, Clark."
"Don't mention it." Clark took a seat next to her on the sofa. "So, how did you like the movie?"
"It was..." Mayson sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "...interesting."
"It was always one of my favorites." Clark took a gulp from his cup.
They sat drinking their coffee in relative silence, while Mayson tried to decide how best to broach the subject she wanted to discuss. After a while, she spoke. "Clark, I've been thinking...."
"About what?"
Mayson set her coffee down. "About us."
Clark's eyes widened slightly. "What about us?"
"Well, we've been seeing each other for quite a while now, and I think it might be time to maybe consider taking our relationship up a notch."
Clark raised an eyebrow. "Up a notch?"
"Yes, Clark; up a notch." She scooted closer to him so that their hips were touching. "THE notch."
"Oh." Clark swallowed. "THE notch."
"Yes, THE notch. We've gotten to know each other well enough, I think. I certainly find you attractive, and I'd thought maybe you'd---?"
Clark set his cup down. "Mayson, you are a VERY attractive woman."
"But---?"
"But, I just don't think I'm ready to move up that particular notch."
Mayson sighed. "Clark, when are you going to get over her?"
Clark lowered his head. "I don't know, Mayson. I just---can't."
"Clark, listen to me; she's gone. You can't spend the rest of your life pining over someone who's made it perfectly clear that she doesn't care for you."
"If I recall correctly, Mayson," Clark snapped, "you didn't care much for Superman until I saved you from that car bomb!"
Mayson glared. "That was completely different, Clark! I may have questioned your alter ego's motives, but I did care about YOU, unlike that GROUPIE who you admit used to drool over your powers and shove the real you aside. For crying out loud, Clark, I can't understand what you ever saw in her, much less why you still miss her."
"She was still my friend!"
"Fine! Then think of her as a friend, but don't let her get in the way of our relationship!"
Clark sighed. "Mayson, you just don't understand...."
"No, I'm afraid you don't understand, Clark; if you can't get over her, then you and I cannot have a future."
"Mayson, I can't. I'm sorry, but I just can't."
"I see." Mayson stood up and shouldered her purse. "Then I guess there's nothing more to say." With that, she left.
After a while, Clark stood and raked a hand through his hair. The second woman to become an important part of his life, and the second woman to walk out on him forever. At least she hadn't run off screaming and shouting obscenities...
*****
Dr. Klein came back into the room. "Miss Lane, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. It doesn't look good. He's suffering from a level of Kryptonite poisoning that even his father has never experienced. I estimate that nearly every cell in his system is contaminated. If he's going to have any chance of surviving, he'll need a major blood transfusion. We have to take out as much of the contaminated blood as we can and pump him full of fresh hemoglobin."
Lois rolled up her sleeve. "Take as much as you need. I don't care if you completely drain my body!"
Dr. Klein shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we can use your blood."
"But I'm his mother!"
"I know, I know! What I mean is that normal blood might not be enough to pull him out of this. With normal blood we might ease the contamination problem, but then his body is left to fight the rest of the contamination and then recharge on its own. He's much too weak to do that, Miss Lane. However, with Kryptonian blood there's a much better chance of recharging his body for him so that he can recover."
Lois became very uncomfortable. She knew what Dr. Klein was trying to tell her.
Dr. Klein sat down in front of her and took her hands in his. "Miss Lane, we need to contact his father. I don't know how things are between you two, but it's the best chance Mike will have. It might be the only chance Mike will have!"
Lois looked at Mike, lying still and helpless on the examining table, then back at Dr. Klein. Her bottom lip began to tremble. "I---I---I can't..."
"Miss lane---" Dr. Klein sighed. "Lois. It's up to you. We can give normal blood a try, but I don't think it will work. You need to decide what we're going to do, but I should warn you: time is running out.
*****
Clark wandered to his bedroom and leaned against the doorframe. His eyes fell on the bed, and for a while he allowed himself to relive those precious moments when Lois didn't hate him.
Until she woke up and screamed.
He sighed. Maybe Mayson was right. Lois was never coming back, and the sooner he got used to that, the better.
Clark glanced at the clock. It was ridiculously late, but he didn't feel the slightest bit tired. He had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to sleep if he tried. Well, if he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well go on a patrol of the city. Maybe the night air would help him clear his head.
*****
Lois paced in front of the building. The air was a bit nippy, but she didn't care. She had to think!
Dr. Klein had said that Mike's only hope was a blood transfusion---with Clark's blood. That meant that she had to confront Clark again for the first time in years and, to top that off, tell him that she'd had his son. Neither task seemed very appealing.
She had come to Metropolis willing to do anything it took to save Mike's life, but could she do this? Could she not? How would Clark react when she told him? IF she told him, she mentally corrected herself. Clark might be furious that she kept Mike a secret from him for so long.
But then, who was he to complain about keeping secrets?
That was another thing; she would have to tell Clark that she knew his secret. How would they handle that?
And how would they handle Mike? Now that she knew Mike was part Kryptonian, it was obvious he'd eventually need his father to help him get used to whatever superpowers he might develop. And if Clark or even she herself eventually settled down with someone, that someone would have to understand and accept whatever arrangement she and Clark came up with, and who could be expected to do that?
She'd initially left Metropolis in order to avoid opening any can of worms that having Clark's baby might turn out to be. Now life had just handed her a can-opener.
Every fear and doubt she'd ever had since she discovered she was pregnant was now swirling around in her brain. Finally, though, they were all shattered by one cold fact: Mike was dying.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Mike---her baby, her precious angel that she wouldn't trade for all the Pulitzers in the world---was dying. And the only one who could save him was Clark.
"Help," Lois said, weakly. She took in a shaky breath. "Help!"
Lois straightened. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and sucked in a lung-full of the cold air. "HELP, SUPERMAN!"
For a moment, she thought he hadn't heard. She slowly turned and was about to re-enter the building when suddenly there was a soft thud behind her.
"Lois?"
*****
TBC...Next Week 
