Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Gestation - Human and Kryptonian (6/?)

When the phone rang the next morning, Clark and I locked eyes. Maybe Evelyn got the results early and decided to call us? I reached for the phone while Clark got up to get the other extension.

“Hello, darling,” came the voice on the other end of the phone.

Given that I had been preoccupied (read: self-centered) lately, I had completely forgotten that my parents were coming back from their vacation this weekend.

“Hi, Mom,” I said weakly.

“Hi, Ellen,” Clark said, covering his disappointment better than I had, but not well enough.

“What's wrong with the two of you?” my mother asked.

“Nothing,” I was fast to say. “We're just tired.” I hated lying to my parents, but I was a much better liar than Clark. Besides, I thought in a couple of hours we would have news and I could call and explain what was going on to my parents without lying. They would understand our wanting to wait.

“So, how was the Bahamas, Ellen?” Clark asked, looking at me with raised eyebrows through the kitchen doorway. I knew he was surprised that I had lied, but wasn't sure how to explain what I was thinking to him, so I just shrugged in response.

“It was wonderful,” she said and I could hear the happiness in her voice. Ever since my parents had reconciled, they had become different people. It was hard to get used to, but the changes were good. They were happier for one thing and they made much more of an effort to be part of our lives. It was an adjustment for me to remember to tamp down the annoyance I felt whenever they called, but over time it was getting easier. In fact, I hardly felt annoyed any more at all when they called. I guess even the worst relationships can be salvaged.

“You two should really go down there sometime,” she said. “You could use a vacation.”

“Hi, Princess, Clark” my dad said into the phone. That was another change. My dad had taken to calling me Princess, the name he had used for me when I was a kid. He had stopped using it by the time I was ten, but now it had resurfaced.

“Hi, Dad,” I said in reply, making an attempt to sound happier than I had with my mother.

“So, did you enjoy the vacation, too, Sam?” Clark asked.

“Yes. Ellen and I were thinking – maybe later this year we could all go. Lucy and Ben, too. We bumped into this other couple when we were there, they were on a cruise. They said it's an amazing deal. If you go during hurricane season you can book rooms for $80 a person. And most of the time the risk of a hurricane is pretty minor.”

“$160 for a room is an amazing deal?” I asked.

“Well, Princess, it comes with food. And evening entertainment,” my dad pointed out. When had my dad become a cruise person?

“My parents went on a cruise a couple of years ago. They loved it,” Clark said.

I shot him a dirty look. I knew what he was trying to do. My parents were trying to arrange a family vacation and pretend we were all one big happy family and Clark was trying to encourage me to go along with it.

“So maybe in the spring we can look for deals for next fall?” my father asked.

“Sounds good,” I finally said. I knew it would make Clark happy and if all went well, when spring came we would have the perfect excuse not to go.

“So, how are things going with you?” my mother asked.

“We're okay,” I said, trying to think of anything to tell her about. The problem was that for the last few weeks it felt like our lives revolved around the baby. We didn't have anything else going on.

“Things here are quiet,” Clark supplied.

“Lucy is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks,” my dad offered.

“She is?” I was surprised. Typically, I knew my sister's whereabouts before my parents did.

“Yup, she's bringing Ben along, too. She said she thinks it's time we met,” my mother said.

“That's great,” Clark said. “It sounds like things must be going really well for them.”

“Yeah, apparently Ben just got a promotion and Lucy is loving her new job,” Dad offered.

“We'll have to give them a call,” I said, although I had been putting off talking to my sister.

“Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation,” I said, finding talking to my parents without telling them about everything going on exhausting. When had that happened? It used to be easy to find ways to skirt around what was going on in my life.

“Do you kids want to come over for dinner later in the week?” my dad asked.

Clark glanced at me, giving me the choice. I nodded slightly, thinking that once we knew what was going on, it would be easier to see them. Besides, I was already feeling guilty for my fib to my mother earlier, so I knew I would call them back after we talked to Evelyn to let her know what was going on.

“That sounds great, Sam. Why don't you let us know when you feel settled in enough from your trip?” Clark asked.

“Sounds good,” Dad said.

“I can't wait to see you,” Mom added. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mom,” I said, my voice breaking slightly.

“Bye,” Clark said. He came over as soon he had hung up to put his arms around me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded, trying to fight the urge to cry. “What time is it?” I asked.

“Ten. She said to call her at noon,” he said.

I nodded. “Let's go for a walk,” I suggested, eager to get out of the house so I would stop wanting to stare at the clock until noon.

Clark got my coat and we walked around the block a couple of times, but I was still feeling jumpy and unsettled.

“Want to go flying?” Clark asked quietly.

I was not sure I would be able to stay still in his arms, but thought anything that did not involve going back home yet was a good idea, so nodded my head.

Clark asked me to tuck my head into his chest, which he commonly did when we were going for a long flight. When he touched down a few minutes later, we were in a park. Up ahead through the trees, I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower. I smiled up at him. “Wow,” I said. “You really know how to distract a girl.”

He smiled at me in return before bending his head to kiss me. “I thought waiting to go up might be a good way to pass the time.”

He took my hand and we wound our way through the park to the base of the tower. There was a line, of course, but given that it was a bit chilly out, it was not too long. Within a few minutes, we were on the elevator making our way to the mid level and another short line later we were on the top. We walked around slowly, taking in Paris below us. It was beautiful, but not as much of a distraction as I had hoped and I kept finding myself with my hand on my stomach.

I looked at my watch. 11:45. I turned to Clark. “Time to go home?”

When he glanced at his watch and saw the time, he nodded. We got home nearly exactly at noon.

Clark called Evelyn's cell phone number while I picked up the extension. “Hello?” she asked and it hit me for a moment that as much as I liked Evelyn, this was not as important to her as it was for us. She had clearly forgotten that we were calling. I didn't blame her for it, really, I was just surprised. I had forgotten that other people had lives that were free from the uncertainty Clark and I were living in right now.

“Evelyn, it's Lois and Clark Kent,” Clark said.

“Oh, Clark,” Evelyn said. “Is it twelve already?” she asked. “I guess it is. How odd. I asked the lab to call me with the results but no one has called yet,” she told us. “Let me call them and I'll call you right back.”

“Okay,” Clark said. We hung up the phone and looked at each other. “Just a few more minutes,” he said.

I nodded my head, willing the phone to ring again as soon as possible. We sat in silence, just holding hands for about five minutes. At that point the silence had gotten so pervasive we both jumped when the phone rang.

Clark had moved the cordless extension from the kitchen to sit next to the one that had been on the coffee table all day and so we both reached over to grab a handset as we grasped each other's hands.

“Clark? Lois?” Evelyn asked, and I could feel myself start to relax slightly. We would know any minute now.

“Yes,” Clark answered and I shot him a grateful look. I had forgotten that I was required to say anything.

“I'm sorry,” she started and I felt my entire body tense up again. “The lab does not seem to have the results of your blood test. They don't have any record of you being there at all.”

I sighed. The woman who had been there had seemed a little scatter brained, but I had not considered that she might lose the blood sample.

“So, what can we do?” I asked although I knew the real answer – there would be no news today.

“I'm sorry, Lois, but you're going to need to come in tomorrow for another blood test,” Evelyn answered.

“And then we'll find out the answer on Tuesday?” Clark asked. “Isn't there someplace we can go today so we'll know tomorrow?”

I squeezed his hand slightly. Clark had been good about hiding how he was feeling from me, but in this question, his concern shone through. Like me, he wanted an answer now.

Evelyn sighed while she thought, “Well, you can go to Met General. Their lab should be open today. Let me give them a call to make sure and send them a requisition form and I'll call you back.”

“Thank you, Evelyn,” Clark said.

“I'm sorry for ruining your weekend,” I added.

“Don't be ridiculous. This is my job and getting some answers is important to me, too,” she replied. I smiled. This baby was not as important to Evelyn as it was to Clark and myself, but of course it wasn't. I couldn't really expect much more than what Evelyn was doing from our doctor.

“I'll call you back as soon as I finish with the hospital,” she said before she hung up.

The phone rang again less than a minute later. I picked it up surprised Evelyn had finished that fast.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Lois, how are you and your precious little one?” came back the voice of my mother-in-law.

“Martha,” I said, panicking and looking at Clark. Lying to my parents was one thing. I just could not lie to Martha and Jonathan. It felt so wrong.

Clark reached over to pick up the other extension. “Hi, Mom. We're sort of waiting on an important phone call right now. Can we call you back in a few minutes?”

“Sure,” Martha said agreeably. “I was just calling to see how Lois was feeling. No rush at all.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Clark said, his relief evident.

And of course, this meant that his mother picked up on it. “Clark, honey, is everything alright?”

Clark looked caught. He, too, had trouble lying to his parents, and I knew he felt guilty telling them after we had agreed to keep it to ourselves. “We're not sure, Martha,” I said, making the decision for him. “We're waiting to get some news from the doctor, but we'll call back and explain later today.”

“Oh,” Martha replied, sounding subdued now.

“We'll call you back, Mom,” Clark repeated.

“Right, of course,” she said seeming to realize that we needed to go so the line would be clear for Evelyn's call. “Call me when you can.”

Clark and I hung up the phone. I felt badly for worrying Martha, but now that we wouldn't have news until tomorrow somehow it felt too hard to keep it a secret from everyone. Plus, now that we were talking to others, it involved lying and that was much harder to deal with.

The one good thing about Martha's call was that it kept us busy. Evelyn called to tell us that we could go to the hospital right after we got off the phone with Martha.

“Okay, let's go,” Clark said to me. “We can call my mother when we get back.”

We each grabbed a book and were out the door a moment later.